


Shall I Know You?

by FromTheBoundlessSea



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, Do Not Separate The Heirs Of Durin, Dwobbits, F/M, Female Bilbo Baggins, Female Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, I'm Bad At Tagging, Protective Bilbo Baggins, Sort Of, Thorin's A+ Parenting, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, a whole lotta angst, fading, haha I cried writing chapter 23, kind of, this includes the ofc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-08-29 04:51:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 36,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16737439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FromTheBoundlessSea/pseuds/FromTheBoundlessSea
Summary: After the loss of the only family she has ever known, Lorin finds she is fading.When she awakens, she finds herself in Bag End the morning the Company arrives. Deciding to make sure the line of Durin doesn’t end and her mother (at least) gets a happy ending, Lorin joins the Company as their second burglar in hopes she can also destroy the One Ring in the only thing that could destroy it besides the place from which it was made: dragon fire.However, stories are still stories, and not everything her mother said was the truth and what’s to say Lorin being there won’t change everything anyways?





	1. Chapter 1

Lorin watched her cousin, mother, and godfather as they and the boat that carried them grew smaller and smaller into the distance. The others had already turned their backs, but Lorin found that she could not. She refused to leave until she could no longer see them, because if she didn’t watch them go, she’d simply always wait for them to return to her, just as she did with her father when she was small. Even so, her heart broke knowing the last of her family was gone. 

She knew that, after everything, they would have never been able to stay in Middle Earth. Her mother had always been heartbroken since Lorin’s father had died (long before she even realized she was carrying a child) and had begun fading before she realized that she carried the seed of her Heart. When Frodo had joined their family, Lorin had begun to hope. She had a little brother and her mother had a son that, if a person were to squint, could easily pass for the child of the dwarf that had broken Bramble Baggins’ heart. 

It was all that blasted ring’s fault, Lorin was sure of it. Although her mother never mentioned it, Lorin was certain that the unconscious reason Bramble had hidden the blasted Arkenstone in the first place was because of the ring. Everything would have been fine if she had handed the Arkenstone to Thorin. The Sons of Durin would have lived. Lorin is sure of it. 

And if Frodo has never had possession of the ring, then he would have never have needed to go on the blasted quest. He would have been able to stay home and have never needed worry about life outside the Shire. He wouldn’t have felt the need to leave Middle Earth entirely. He could have lived his life with his friends. Frodo could have stayed. He could have stayed because he knew she’d be alone after he’d gone. But he chose to leave her just as her mother had, just as everyone else had.   
If it weren’t for that stupid ring, everything would have been fine. 

***

Lorin packed up what few belongings she had in Bag End. It wasn’t her home anymore. Sam had told her that she was welcome to stay that it was her home. But Lorin had put on her best “I’m fine don’t ask” smile and told him she had been planning on moving to Erebor anyways. It was a complete lie, but Sam accepted it, not before giving her a hug though. She asked that that she give her love to Merry and Pippin as she wasn’t telling them that she’d be leaving. 

After all, she hated goodbyes. 

***

Lorin was barely outside the Shire when she met the odd combination of dwarrow and elf. She knew who they were immediately because there was no possibility of it being anyone but them. Legolas and Gimli smiled when they saw her but her stoic response made both of them falter, but only slightly. 

“Are you leaving then?” Legolas asked, his voice tight. She nodded. “Where will you go?”

She shrugged. “I’ve never been anywhere but the Shire. It’s time I went on an adventure of my own.”

“Do you think it wise, lass?” Gimli shifted slightly. “It will be difficult for you to travel.”

“I’ve traveled.”

“With four other male hobbits and then with a ranger, but you plan to travel alone,” Legolas countered. “The journey to Rivendell was difficult, but past that will be even more difficult, especially alone.”

“Maybe if certain someones hadn’t forced me to stay in Rivendell, I wouldn’t feel the need to leave.”

Legolas grimaced and Gimli decides the ground was a very interesting thing to look at. Lorin didn’t really blame them or the others for not taking her along on the quest. She would have been an oddity even if she wasn’t female. But it still hurt when everyone had come to the conclusion that she wasn’t needed for the quest. She was older than the hobbits, she was even more skilled than they were. But they decided they couldn’t let her go because they had no idea what the ring might have done to her. 

It might have driven her mad for all they knew. It had driven Boromir mad, and madness didn’t run as strong in his family as it did hers. Blasted ring!

“Are you going to Erebor?” Gimli looked hopeful. 

“Would I be welcome at Erebor?”

He paused. “Yes.”

Lorin sighed. “Would I be welcomed as my father’s daughter?”

He didn’t reply. 

“I don’t know where I’m going. I just know I don’t want to stay.”

“Lorin,” the tone in Legolas’ voice sent a shudder down her spine. He’d figured it out. “Are you fading?”

She looked up at him, her blue eyes brimming with unsheadable tears. She had felt it beginning when the boat had finally disappeared into the distance. The hollowing in her chest was becoming unbearable. “I just don’t want anyone to see.”

With that, Gimli took the young dwobbit into his arms and gave her a near bone-crushing hug. Legolas held them both. Burying her face into Gimli’s chest she began to sob. She didn’t want to die. But she had nothing that made her want to live either. 

***

She had made it to Beorn’s house when the final stages of fading began. He seemed to know who she was instantly and seemed to know what was happening. The shape-shifter picked her up in his arms and carried her into his home. He sat down and let her rest on his chest as though she were only a fauntling needing to be soothed for bed. In a gentle voice, Beorn began to tell her the story of her parents and the Company as he knew it. The rumble in his chest was soothing and filled out the continued hollow of her chest.

Lorin’s eyes closed as she began to drift. She had never known who to ask things for when she was very afraid, so she never asked. But in those final moments of clarity, she prayed to Yavanna and Mahal both and asked if they would grant her the only thing she ever wanted. She asked if they could just send her back to the beginning so she could…  
She didn’t even get to finish the thought before her mind grew blank. However, before the fading could finish, the Valar listened


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to try and post a chapter every Sunday. “Try” being the operative word.

When Lorin’s eyes opened, she knew she was not in Yavanna’s Garden. She knew this because everything hurt. Slowly, she sat up and knew she was in Bag End, however, there was something decidedly off about it. It was… well, it was rather more organized than it had ever been in her own childhood. She was in Gandalf’s old room judging by the size of the bed. But that didn’t explain anything at all. 

Lorin was about to get out of bed when the door opened. In came a hobbit she had only seen in sketches. Her long golden curls had a slight bounce that she short ones never had. Her cheeks had a bright rosy tint to them and her smile stretched to her brilliant brown eyes. This was the Bramble Baggins that only existed in the red covered book. 

“Oh, thank the Lady, you’re awake!” Bramble rushed to Lorin and set the tray she was carrying on the table. “I was so frightened when I found you collapsed outside my house last night!”

“I…” Lorin had no words. “I… I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“None at all!” Bramble assured. “I am just glad you are up and talking.” She smiled brightly and extended her hand. “Bramble Baggins, at your service.”

Lorin took the hand hesitantly. “Lorin, daughter of… Lorin, at yours.” No need to bring up Her father… right?

“Would you like first breakfast?”

“Yes please.”

Perhaps this was simply an in between stop before she reached Yavanna’s Garden. Perhaps the Valar decided to let Lorin have this one chance of seeing what her mother was like before she had been broken. If that was all this was going to be, Lorin was going to take it. 

***

Bramble watched the strange looking hobbit as they ate their first breakfast together. Lorin, as she called herself, was rather odd. First of all, Lorin didn’t seem to remember much of anything, like how she wound up outside the gate, but that seemed like a bit of a lie. If Lorin had been awake upon their initial meeting, Bramble might not have let her inside. But there was something rather familiar about the hobbit that made Bramble take her in. 

Lorin had bright blue eyes that seemed almost too weary for someone her age. Her long curly black hair was tied in odd braids that appeared to have meaning, but Bramble didn’t understand them at all. She also wore shoes and her feet were a little smaller than regular hobbit feet, although she did have some fur that covered the tops of them. Overall, she was rather pretty, but still very odd. 

“So, what brings you to Hobbiton?”

Lorin shifted slightly. She glanced at Bramble like a child who had been caught doing something they only now figured out was wrong. “I'm simply supposed to be here, I suppose.”

“You suppose?” Bramble tilted her head in confusion. “Wouldn’t you know the reason you’re here or not?”

Lorin looked away and to her food. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s today? I… I have been traveling for some time and I find I don’t even know what year it is.”

Bramble could sense some half truths, possibly even more than half. However, Bramble saw no problem sharing the date. “It’s the 26th of April, 2941.”

Lorin stilled and seemed to think for a very long moment. She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow and appeared to contemplate options. After what seemed to be a careful deliberation, Lorin seemed to come to a decision. “I think I’m here to do something important.”

***

“Well, I never.” Bramble huffed. She had, of course, remembered who Gandalf was the moment she saw him. How many tall folk who wore all gray and wore a pointy hat did he think wandered into the Shire? Only one and all he ever brought was trouble. 

“Is everything okay?” Lorin asked from the kitchen. She was making lunch and seemed to know her was around Bramble’s kitchen with an ease only Bramble herself ever seemed to really have. 

“Yes, an old friend simply stopped by to make outrageous requests.”

“Oh? And that would be?”

“Have you ever heard of Gandalf the Wandering Wizard?”

“And Disturber of the Peace?” Lorin shifted again. Bramble decided the girl must be terrible at cards because it was very easy to tell if she wasn’t about to tell the full truth. “I know him very well, he just doesn’t know me. Let me guess, he wants to take you on an adventure?”

“He says it will be very good for me and rather amusing for him.”

Lorin sighed. “He would, wouldn’t he.” She paused. “We should make a large dinner.”

“What? Why?”

“Because, as I said, I know Gandalf well and he’s probably going to invite quite a lot of people to your home without so much as asking.”

***

They made a big dinner that could feed all the dwarrow quite comfortably. It took almost everything Bramble had, but still, she didn’t want to be a rude hostess. She only knew dwarves would be invading her smial because Lorin had let it, accidentally, slip. She then told Bramble that the preferred word was dwarrow. How she knew this, Lorin didn’t say. As the night went on, however, the poor girl seemed to become more and more nervous. So much so that she took out her beautiful braids and asked for a string to put her beads on.

***

Dwalin was going to be the first of the dwarrow to arrive. Lorin had no clue if that had been planned or not, but she thought it was a rather stupid idea if they had planned to get their hostess accustomed to them. From what her mother had said, Dwalin was quite a frightening person to look at. Certainly the Ri brothers would have been a much better introduction.

She and Bramble, she could honestly barely register the hobbit as her mother the two were so different, were drinking some tea when a hardened knock came to the door. Bramble sighed and open the door carefully. 

“Dwalin, at your service.”


	3. Chapter 3

When Dwalin entered the hobbit (a female hobbit!) home, he was shocked to find a very young looking Dís staring at him. He knew, logically, that it wasn’t Dís, but the similarities were… odd. This girl’s face was rounder and more hobbit-looking than the defined Durin features the princess had, but there was no doubt about those Durin blue eyes. 

“Lorin, at your service.” She didn’t stand or bow. 

“Dwalin, at yours,” he said, sitting to eat. “I wasn’t aware that two hobbits living here.”

“Oh, I’m not a hobbit.”

“Then what—”

“Ah! Brother!”

***

Lorin watched as the two dwarrow butt heads with a loud crack that made Bramble, who was standing in the doorway, flinch. She looked ready to faint. Definitely not like her mother at all. Lorin stood and offered to greet the rest of the guest so Bramble could focus on being a good hostess. The hobbit woman sighed contently and went about feeding her guests. 

There was an impatient knock at the door and when she opened it, Lorin felt her cheeks flush. Two rather stupidly handsome dwarves around her age stood there smirking, her reaction seeming to puff up their male ego. 

“Fíli,” the blonde one said, his gaze drinking her in. 

“And Kíli,” the brunette said, in a very serious nature that gave away how young he was. 

The two bowed. “At your service.”

“You must be Miss Boggins!” Kíli said with a smirk. 

Lorin shook her head. Gandalf was right, they were a little like Merry and Pippin. Her heart sank a little. She missed her cousins. She should have said goodbye. 

“I’m not your hostess. But, Lorin, at your service.” She motioned them inside. Before they could do anything, Lorin remembered her mother’s only complaint of them. “Do not wipe your feet on that!” Kíli had only just begun to lift his foot. “And you,” she turned to Fíli. “I have nothing to protect my arms from sharpened daggers. Put them carefully on top of that chest.”

The two princes quirked an eyebrow at her before doing as she said. She waited by the door and soon the rest of the company, sans Thorin, fell into Bag End with Gandalf smirking as the struggled to make themselves right. After they stood, Gandalf introduced them all and Lorin sent them on their way to get food. 

The wizard looked at Lorin after they left and smiled. “Ah, it is nice to meet you, my dear.”

Lorin cocked her head to the side. “You were expecting me?”

“Lady Galadriel warned me a year ago that your arrival might be expected.”

Blasted wizard. “Then does she know why I’m here?”

“I suppose you are here to change things from how they went in your time.”

“The quest would be successful without my interference, if that’s what you’re suggesting.” Lorin crosses her arms. “I suppose… I suppose I’m here to make sure the cost isn’t so great.”

“Care to share what the cost was?”

“Just know I was the last of my line when I faded.”

Gandalf grimaced. “I am sorry.”

Lorin sighed. “I’m honestly still wondering if this is all a dream.” She heard the clamor of dishes and the dwarrow began to sing a rousing number of ‘What Bramble Baggins Hates.’ “I’ve heard about all of those people in stories, but I never met them. My mother did a good job describing them, but I fear my knowledge of certain parts of the quest are limited. My mother only knew what happened to her, not always what happened to them during the quest. It doesn’t help that my mother never wanted to speak ill of my father so any faults he might have on this journey are lost on me. She just told me he was brave and loyal. You once told me he could be a stubborn git though.”

Gandalf chuckled. “I suppose I must greet our hostess. If it would help I will introduce you formally to her, not as her child, but simply as a child of two old friends.”

“If you would like.”

***

“He is here.”

The severity of his tone caused Bramble’s heart to quicken. The only reason he would be so serious was if the next dwarf to enter her home were very important. Although Gandalf has assured Bramble that Lorin was trustworthy, the hobbit had already decided it to be true. The other woman might be secretive, but she was very good at negating damage from happening to her home and that made her a good person in Bramble’s book. 

Bramble and the rest of the company followed Gandalf to the door. He opened it and there stood the handsomest person Bramble had ever seen, a shiver ran up her spine. She was certain in was the Quickening. His thick black hair with silver patches spoke of wisdom and character. His piercing eyes. She felt herself flush a bit. 

“Gandalf,” the dwarf said, tipping his head slightly. He was a little taller than the other dwarves. There was something very noble about him, like a prince from one of Bramble’s books. He stepped in. “I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice.”

From behind Bramble, Lorin snorted softly. The others didn’t seem to hear, but Bramble had. She thought it was rather funny as well. How could anyone lose their way in the Shire? There was only one road. 

“I wouldn’t have found it at all,” the dwarf continued. “If it hadn’t been for that mark on the door.”

That snapped Bramble back to attention. “Mark? What mark?” She rushed to expect it. “There’s no mark I had it painted a week ago!”

“There is a mark,” Gandalf said, closing the door before Bramble could see. “I put it there myself.” He smiled and Bramble scowled. At least the dwarves hadn’t purposefully damaged anything. “Bramble Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield.”

Thorin crossed his arms and smiled as if she were a child trying to look like an adult. Considering how small she was compared to him, that might have been what he thought. “So, this is the hobbit.” He began to circle Bramble and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “Tell me, Miss Baggins, have you done much fighting?”

“Pardon?”

“Axe or sword? What’s your weapon of choice?” He said the last word with sarcasm. 

She glanced at Lorin to see if he was serious. The other woman was staring at the newcomer with a strange mixture of awe and something else… sadness perhaps. “If you must know, I’m quite good at conkers, but I don’t see how that’s relevant.” She didn’t like this Thorin. He seemed rather smug. Bebother the Quickening. He was being rude. 

“Thought as much,” Thorin smirked. “She looks more like a grocer than a burglar.”

The others in the company laughed and Bramble felt herself turn even redder with embarrassment. She hadn’t felt this small and stupid since she had reached her majority. Oh! If she just had the courage she had such a good comeback!

“And what’s wrong with being a grocer, Master Oakenshield?” Lorin asked, coolly. “Or do you think food just appears in the kitchen out of nowhere?”

This caused everyone to looked at the other woman in the smial. The dwarves appeared to be quite shocked that she was there. Although she had introduced herself to them, they had all appeared much more interested in Bramble’s reaction to their antics than in the strange hobbit that barely spoke. 

“And who are you?” Thorin asked.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this chapter today because I will be flying pretty much all day tomorrow!  
> Enjoy!

Lorin glared at the dwarf her mother had called her father. How spectacularly rude. How her mother had ever fallen for him or how she had even been conceived was beating her understanding considering how terrible Thorin Oakenshield was being to Bramble. Lorin hadn’t meant to speak, but the insult to Bramble, who had been nothing but kind to her unwanted guests, was the last straw. He was about to ask Bramble to go on a quest to face a dragon and his first instinct was to insult her. How ridiculously unromantic. 

Well, her mother did say they had gotten off, rather spectacularly, on the wrong foot. 

Her mother had said Thorin was rude when they first met, but this was ridiculous. 

“My name is Lorin,” she said, answering his question. “Although I will not put myself at the service of someone so rude.”

He glared at her. “Gandalf, I was unaware there was another hobbit we would be meeting here.”

“I was unsure if she would be here myself. However, I find I should inform you that Lorin is not a hobbit.” The wizard turned to Lorin. “What is it you called yourself, my dear?”

“A dwobbit.”

“What’s a dwobbit?” A voice from amongst the company called. It was probably Ori. 

“Half dwarf, half hobbit,” Lorin replied. 

“There’s no such thing,” Thorin scoffed. 

“I assure you that there are, although, to my knowledge, I’m the only one.” Lorin folded her arms. “I prefer the sword, by the way, although I don’t carry one.” She has been given Orcist when she had turned thirty, but she had never had the opportunity to use it. She had given it back to the elves when she passed Rivendell for the last time. 

The two continued to glare at each other before Gandalf cleared his throat. “Her mother and father are old friends. Her mother was a hobbit and her father was a dwarf. Quite the romance from what I can guess.”

“You guess?” Thorin glanced at Gandalf. “Do you not know?”

“I’m afraid my knowledge of Lorin and what happened to her family is limited.”

“My adad died before my mother knew she was pregnant. The rest of my kin felt it necessary that I not live with them.” The lies came way too easily. Perhaps it was because there was a lot of truth in them. Most of the company hadn’t wanted her or her mother to stay in the mountain. None had bothered to contact them except Balin. But even that was before Lorin could remember anything. “My mother passed recently. She was quite middle aged when she had me and because of my aging, I don’t spend all that much time with hobbits so no one here actually knows me.”

“And you want both to join the quest?” Thorin did not bother to converse with her. 

“I believe both will be necessary for very different things.”

“I will not ask for the help of gentle women.”

“Because the rest of your people outside these eleven people responded so well to you asking,” Lorin snorted. 

Thorin’s eyes snapped to her. She looked away and bit her lip. Lorin really needed to learn to stop talking. She supposed not having been able to talk to her dad her entire life was finally catching up to her. 

Regardless of how rude he was being, Lorin really did want to give him a good impression on her. 

***

The rest of the evening went on without much difference compared to what Lorin’s mother had told her. The main differences were that Lorin caught Bramble before she fell and was able to convince the hobbit that going on this quest was necessary. 

“Write to the Thain and tell him you’ll be gone for almost two years,” Lorin told her. “That way those Sackville-Bagginses won’t get any ideas.” Bramble had smiled at that. 

As everything was settled the dwarrow began to sing. Lorin’s heart stuttered in her chest when she heard her father’s voice, deep and low, sing the song of the mountain. Her mother had sung the song to her before, but this… this was different. Lorin watched him with wide eyes before turning away to hide the burning tears that were threatening to spill. He would survive this. He was going to survive this. 

She glanced up and saw Bramble standing in the doorway. The hobbit watched Thorin with bright eyes and Lorin remembered her mother saying the first thing she had fallen in love with with Thorin’s voice. 

Lorin would make this work. She had to. 

***

“Do you sing?” The hobbit, Bramble, asked Lorin. 

Thorin glanced at the two women. He knew he had started their introduction all wrong, especially with Bramble. But he tended to put his foot in his mouth around most women, something his sister, the only woman he was comfortable around, found hilarious. 

“A… a little,” Lorin blushed. She reminded him a bit of Dís. If she had a beard, Thorin might have called them twins. “My mum said I got my voice from my adad, but… um… I’ve never really sing much in front of others. My cousins sang a lot though.”

“How about you sing something?” Bramble smiled, trying to be encouraging. “Then, I can sing a Shire song. How does that sound?”

“I—I suppose.” The dwobbit woman stood. She bit her lip. “I… I apologize if this isn’t… if this isn’t as good as what all of you have.”

‘I saw the light fade from the sky / On the wind I heard a sigh / As the snowflakes cover my fallen brothers / I will say this last goodbye’ 

Her voice was soft and hesitant, but Thorin could sense the deep emotion hidden behind her words. What was this girl’s story? 

‘Night is now falling / So ends this day / The road is now calling / And I must away / Over hill and under tree / Through lands where never light has shone / By silver streams that run down to the sea’

She was smiling and Thorin was fairly certain it was the first time he had seen her smile. It wasn’t one that reached her eyes, but it was a gentle one. It reminded him a little of his brother Frerin. 

‘Under cloud, beneath the stars / Over snow one winter's morn / I turn at last to paths that lead home  
And though where the road then takes me / I cannot tell / We came all this way / But now comes the day / To bid you farewell’

She had a fine voice. It was obvious she had not been formally trained, but she had the natural skill. 

‘Many places I have been / Many sorrows I have seen / But I don't regret / Nor will I forget / All who took the road with me’

‘Night is now falling / So ends this day / The road is now calling / And I must away / Over hill and under tree / Through lands where never light has shone / By silver streams that run down to the sea’

 

‘To these memories I will hold / With your blessing I will go / To turn at last to paths that lead home / And though where the road then takes me / I cannot tell / We came all this way / But now comes the day / To bid you farewell / I bid you all a very fond farewell’

***

Fíli stared at the woman. His eyes large. When she had sung, he felt as though all the world had become silent save for her. It was as though, in those moments, she was the only thing in all of Arda that mattered. The quest didn’t matter. The blasted dragon didn’t matter. Erebor didn’t matter. Mahal, even Kíli didn’t matter for a few minutes. All that mattered was Lorin. 

He had noticed how pretty she was when he came in, despite her lack of beard. Her big sapphire eyes and raven black hair and full pink lips. Then she had snarked at Thorin and he thought she might be a good partner in crime with him and Kíli for the rest of the quest. 

Then she had sung.

Mahal… He had found his One and this was probably the last thing he should have had to worry about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is “The Last Goodbye” by Billie Boyd


	5. Chapter 5

Lorin was worried about the trolls. They would be coming up soon. She remembered seeing them as she, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin fled the Shire with Aragorn. Thinking about her original traveling companions caused a deep seeded pain to bloom in her chest. She curled into herself before she sat up. She couldn’t sleep for now. A dream might find root and she really did not want to wake the company with that. 

Thorin was on watch. 

Taking a deep breath, Lorin stood up and went to sit next to him. He froze for a moment before he resumed sharpening his blade. Lorin pulled her knees to her chest and watched as his hands worked. 

“How did your parents meet?” Thorin asked. 

It didn’t sound like he actually cared, but felt like it was polite. “My mother helped my adad with a few things. It was a bit of a whirlwind. They didn’t really court, it sort of just happened. But I know my mum loved my adad. Every night she would tuck me in and tell me stories about him and his family.”

“Why didn’t his family let you stay? It doesn’t sound very dwarvish for them to abandon a mother who was with child.” Thorin’s stone sang across the metal in a harsh movement. 

“It wasn’t safe, I guess. Things were a little chaotic after he died. There was a shift in power and my adad’s family worried that my mum and I might get caught up in it.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m of age.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” he chuckled. 

Lorin pressed her lips to her knees trying to stop herself from smiling. She had made her father chuckle! “I’m seventy-one.”

Thorin paused. “Was your father in the battle for Moria? The timeline is right.”

“He was.” It was true. She’d just let him think he died there. What would even happen if she told them the truth? 

“I’m sorry.” He paused again. “This might sound like a strange question.” Lorin glanced at him. “Was your father’s name Frerin?”

Ah. Her mother always said she looked a lot like her father. Most of the dwarrow had probably assumed she was some descendant if Durin. 

“No, that wasn’t his name.”

“Ah. Was your father from Erebor?”

“Yes.”

Thorin put his hand on her back. It was large and warm. She closed her eyes to keep them from buldging. “I’m sure your father would be proud of you coming to reclaim his home.”

Lorin blushed, she kept her eyes closed to keep from crying now. “Thank you.”

***

The hobbit was rather intelligent. 

Although he was upset with her even getting them in the situation—although Lorin was quick to tell him it was his nephews’ idea for her to go alone—she had been the one to get them out of the same situation. He should apologize for chastising her. 

As they searched through the trolls’ hoard, Thorin found a small elvish sword after finding one for himself. It was more of a letter opener, but it would fit Bramble’s hand quite well. 

“Tharkûn,” he called the wizard over. “Give this to the hobbit. She needs something to protect herself with besides her quick wit.”

“Shouldn’t you give it to her?” The old man smiled. 

“I believe she’d take it better from you.”

The wizard sighed before heading out of the cave. 

Thorin glanced over and saw Lorin holding a sword. It was bigger than the letter opener but smaller than Thorin’s own sword. She twirled it in her hand, finding its balance. He was about to say something when he noticed his oldest nephew staring. 

The king-in-exile sighed. It was one thing for him to feel some distraction. He knew how to put the quest and the rest of the company before his own feelings that were begrudgingly growing for the lady hobbit. Fíli was young. He wouldn’t be able to prioritize. 

“Fíli,” he called. His nephew’s head snapped to him with an expression that reminded Thorin of when the blond prince had stolen some of Thorin’s tools to practicing smithing. “Come here for a moment.” Fíli came over, slowly. He glanced at Lorin, who hadn’t bothered to look up since she hadn’t been the one called. “It needs to wait until after the quest.”

“Thorin! I—”

He waved his hand. “You’re young, I understand that. But you need to wait. She can’t be the only one you think about. You’re my heir. You have things you need to put first.” He briefly glanced at Lorin. “Has she made any inclination that she feels the same?”

“No.”

“Then don’t worry about it until absolutely necessary. Hopefully once we’ve reclaimed the mountain.”

“Yes, uncle.”

***

Fíli wasn’t able to keep his word. The second the first warg appeared, his thoughts went to Lorin to make sure she was alright. She was. He turned to find her pulling her new sword out of a warg’s skull. Blood was splattered up her arm, but she couldn’t be more beautiful. He could put his thoughts away from her for a moment as they all fled. 

“Bramble!” Bofur shouted and Fíli’s head snapped over to see that the hobbit had fallen down and behind. 

He was about to make his way to help her when Lorin rushed past. She yanked the other woman up by the arm and began pushing her into a run. They were okay. He could turn away. 

“Here, you fools!” Tharkûns voice came from a crevice. 

Fíli was climbing over the stone when he heard an ear splitting scream. Blood began to roar in his ears as he turned and watched in horror as Lorin struggled under the dead weight of a warg. Her leg trapped and angled oddly. Fíli jumped from the rocks, ignoring his uncle’s shouting and raced to his One. 

He pushed the warg off of her and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. Was she really this small? The question was pushed aside for later as he rushed Lorin to where the others were. He was about to set her down, when she clung to his neck. 

“We need to go further in!” She shouted. 

No one seemed to question why she knew this, but perhaps it was because it was the obvious thing to do. Fíli carries her through the passage until they came out to find themselves in a very elvish looking city. 

A horn blew and the dwarrow closed ranks. Bramble was pulled into the center. Fíli set Lorin down to lean against the hobbit as he pulled out one of his daggers. A warg has already gotten her. He wasn’t about to let a tree-shagger touch her.


	6. Chapter 6

Bramble held Lorin’s weight carefully. The dwobbit’s leg was definitely broken, if not shattered. What if they left Lorin behind? Surely Thorin wouldn’t do that. Lorin was so much more useful than Bramble was. 

As the dwarrow closed ranks, she noticed Fíli standing oddly closer to Lorin rather than Thorin. She had noticed the blond dwarf paying close attention to the raven-haired woman. When he and his brother tried to frighten Bramble about orcs, he had looked more ashamed for the fact that Lorin was glaring at him rather than Thorin’s chastisement. 

Thinking of Thorin, he was currently being rude to their host, Lord Elrond. Bramble sighed. He was rather handsome for a dwarf. If he weren’t so rude, Bramble might have liked to spend more time with him. At least he didn’t let her get killed by trolls. And he had yet to yell at her for falling behind while they were running from the wargs. But she’d wait. He might just yell at her her. 

“Does he offer us insult?” Glóin asked. 

“No, he offers us food,” Lorin said from next to Bramble. 

“You speak Sindarin?” Bramble asked. 

“I speak a variety of languages. My mum made sure of it. I can’t speak any Khuzdul or Black Speech though.”

“Ah, Lady Lorin,” Lord Elrond said. That cause Lorin to glare at the elf. “We were told you may be arriving. You look every bit like your father.”

“And you haven’t aged a bit since I saw you last.”

“You know this elf?” Thorin asked, his tone giving off how annoyed he was. 

“I know of him and he knows of me. This is technically our first meeting.” 

Bramble wasn’t quite sure what to think of that. 

***

“I will take Lady Lorin to the Halls of Healing while the rest of you are led to where you will sleep.”

Fíli stiffened. Lorin seems to know the elf. But could he trust him?

“We’ll sleep outside.” Thorin said. 

“This is ridiculous.” Lorin limped through the dwarrow and to Lord Elrond. Fíli reached out to help her but lost his chance soon after. “We’re going to have to be here for a week anyway. Just accept the bed. It’s not like we’re going to sleep on anything soft for the foreseeable future.”

Thorin glared at Lorin while Fíli just stared at his One in awe. Balin spoke quietly to Thorin in Khuzdul saying they should accept the offer. After his uncle begrudgingly accepted the elf’s offer, they were led to their sleeping chambers. 

“So, you and Lorin?” Kíli asked from beside Fíli, smirking. 

“It’s one sided,” Fíli said in a low voice. He’d already been reprimanded by Thorin for this. He didn’t need his little brother making fun of him. 

“She’s pretty, considering she doesn’t have a beard.” Kíli continued. “Amad would like her, I think. She’s able to talk back to Thorin and make him see sense. I don’t want to accept anything from these tree-shaggers either, but at least we have a nice place to sleep. Lorin’s right. We probably won’t have proper beds until we get to the mountains. Even then, they’ll be century old mattresses.”

Fíli grumbled his agreement. His mother would like Lorin. He just wished he knew she liked him too. 

***

Lord Elrond asked more questions than Gandalf did. Lorin answered only what she thought was necessary. If she had her way, some of the things she knew were never going to happen anyway. 

“And this quest will, succeed?” He asked. 

“It will. It did even in my timeline. Erebor is necessary in the battle against darkness. Although I hope that never has to happen. Either way, it allows the light to reach where it has not for centuries.”

“If I might ask, Lady Lorin, how did you come to be here?” 

“My mother and cousin, Frodo, decided to leave Middle Earth on the last boat to the Undying Lands, leaving me behind. I didn’t take it well and started to fade. I can still feel it now, sometimes when I think about the people I left behind—people who aren’t even born yet. I don’t know how I came here. The last thing I remember was praying to Mahal and Yavanna and then I woke up in Bag End.”

“The Valar work in mysterious ways,” Elrond nodded. 

“And they seem to like messing with my family the most.”


	7. Chapter 7

As much as Kíli would love to tease his older brother about his little dwobbit, he knew he never would. Fíli had always been the center of attention with the few dwarrowdams that ran in their circle. Even so, he had never shown any interest in them. In fact, Kíli could have easily thought his brother was terrified of them. But then there was Lorin and he looked like a lost puppy that Kíli wished he could just shove his brother on top of the dwobbit and let them at it. But this wasn’t the time. 

Kíli was certain Thorin had already talked to him too. 

Lorin didn’t appear all that concerned that they would have to wait a week for the map to be read. She looked more upset over the fact that she had to spend half of it healing. Bramble visited her often and Thorin occasionally did as well if only to see her progress. He ordered that she train with Kíli and Fíli under Dwalin when they start their journey up again. 

She had a blade now, Cunnas Dagnir, Dragon’s Bane, and it was obvious to everyone she was eager to properly learn. “My mother taught me. I’ve never really fought anyone or thing bigger than me.”

When Lori was fully healed, Lord Elrond decided to throw a party. There was actually meat served this time and Lorin admitted that the elves had served them only vegetables the first night because all the company had been rather rude. Kíli couldn’t disagree with that. 

That was how Bramble and Lorin began to dance. It was then how Lorin and Fíli began to dance. It happened mainly because Nori shouted Fíli to jump in since he had always been a good dancer. Kíli watched as his brother turned bright red and was about to say he was perfectly content sitting and eating and possibly drinking a lot of ale. 

“I’ve never seen a dwarven dance before,” Lorin had said. Her big blue eyes were wide with curiosity. 

She looked much younger with those wide eyes and Kíli suddenly remembered that she hadn’t known any dwarrow before them. She knew nothing about her father’s culture. 

“Fíli could teach you.” His brother gave him a look of betrayal. “He’s a good teacher and I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly.” Kíli nudged his brother forward. 

Hesitantly, Fíli stepped forward an took Lorin’s hands in his to show her the steps. 

***

Balin watched as the prince danced with the curious young lass that had followed them on their quest as their second burglar and saw not the two young folk in front of him, but a young Víli and Lady Dís in the infancy of their courtship. Lorin was calm, but could not hide the sense of wonder in her eyes as Fíli taught her the steps from a dance of her father’s people. Fíli was nervous but smiling and seemed so very eager to please.

Balin had been curious about Lorin the second he had seen her. She looked so remarkably like a young beardless Lady Dís that he was certain she was of the Line of Durin. He had overheard the girl’s conversation with Thorin and had thought she might be a lost daughter of Prince Frerin, but it was not so. 

He had decided to ask Tharkûn if he was able to tell him anything about the lass’ parents. 

“Her father is a very stubborn dwarf with a very good head on his shoulders when he isn’t blinded by past injustices. Her mother is perhaps the kindest hobbit I know and balances Lorin’s father out well.” The wizard blew a smoke ring. “That is all I can tell you. Lorin’s past is her own story to tell.”

Balin watched as Fíli finished his lesson and told the lass she did really well. She nodded, the curiosity faded into her usual impassive gaze. Balin watched as Thorin commented on Fíli’s ability to share their people’s ways and comment on how Lorin did a fine job considering she was only just learning. Balin did not miss the small smiled that played on the girl’s lips. 

It was a Durin smile. 

It was Thorin’s smile. 

***

Thorin noticed Bramble sitting at the bottom of a large staircase and was going to inquire on whether she wished to continue on their quest. The map had been read and they would be leaving soon. He was certain Lorin would be able to manage, no matter how much Lorin appeared determined for the hobbit to come with them. Then he heard Tharkûn’s voice. 

“Of course I was going to tell you, I was waiting for this very chance. And really, I think you can trust that I know what I am doing.”

“I am rarely sure you know what you’re doing,” Lorin’s voice came. He could hear her voice dripping with sarcasm and Thorin felt something akin to pride flare in his chest. “Sometimes I think you have a gift of happy coincidences and sheer dumb luck.”

“This time I am sure. Even you must see the—”

“You cannot guarantee everything will go smoothly. I am glad that Lady Lorin is able to give her assistance, but her presence changes everything.”

“I know what happens up till the mountain,” she said. “The dwarrow have their quest and I have mine.”

“You have not even shared that with us.” The elf huffed. 

“I plan on destroying the One Ring.”

The very air seemed to still. Something cold settled in Thorin’s stomach. Surely it can’t be…

“I’ll trick Smaug into eating it or burning it. Even at the cause of my own arm. I don’t care. That Ring needs to be destroyed now. To many people will perish if I do not.”

“You know where the Ring is?”

“Yes. I even know who has it.”

“Will you tell us?” Gandalf asked. 

“No. You took fifteen years to figure out what it was. When I offered to take the Ring with Frodo you all forbade me because of something my father did. But you never told me why. You told me the ring would drive me mad. There is only one person I hate more than that thrice damned ring. It will not tempt me.”

“You see,” Gandalf said quickly. “This quest will happen whether you allow us to go or not. It is even dangerous if we do nothing. Besides, the throne of Erebor is Thorin’s birthright. What is it you fear?”

“Have you forgotten?” The elf said sternly. “A strain of madness runs deep in that family. His grandfather lost his mind, his father succumbed to the same sickness. I am certain he will do something once the mountain is claimed. Why else would I not let Lady Lorin go on such a quest?” He turned to Lorin. “Can you swear Thorin Oakenshield will not also fall?”

Lorin lifted her chin. She almost looked like Dís when she did so. “I can. I swear on my blood and the Valar that he will not fall. By then, he will have something to fight for. He didn’t know in my time.” Thorin narrowed his eyes. What could that possibly mean? “The dwarrow put family before all. He will not fall.”

Bramble glanced back at Thorin and he glanced at her. Something softened in his heart that he would not try to understand. 

“I must part from you now,” Lorin said. 

“And why is that?” Gandalf inquired. 

“Because I know who it is beyond this point.” She glanced up at the two tall folk. “I give you the only advice I can for now. Do not trust the White Wizard.”

“What?” Gandalf paled. “Why?”

“He burned my home.” She looked up at the wizard with dark eyes. “He brings war to the Shire and raizes it to the ground. I do not know what he is like now, but he will turn to the darkness because he craves power. You may use him. But do not trust him.”

“He falls?” Elrond’s voice sends a shiver down Thorin’s spine. 

“Yes. And my only regret is that I wasn’t the one who slit his throat.”

Lorin turned on her heels and left, leaving all those who heard her in a state of horror, wonder, and confusion.


	8. Chapter 8

Lorin’s eyes opened slowly. Tears were flooding down her cheeks, making it near impossible to see anything. She sat up and looked over to Bramble, who was still sleeping in the other bed. 

Bramble. It wasn’t her mother. She was just Bramble. It wasn’t her mother. She was just Bramble. 

Bramble wasn’t her mother. 

Lorin curled in on herself, fisting the fabric over her heart. It hurt. It hurt so much. It felt like her chest was hollowing. She took deep breathes, trying to push away the pain, but to no avail. It hadn’t hurt this badly when she was fading. So what was this now?

Slowly, she got out of bed and decided to go on a walk. No, practice. She needed to practice. Lorin grabbed Cunnas Dagnir before heading out. 

She reached a clearing and began to go through her forms. They would be leaving tomorrow and soon they would reach the goblin caves and Bramble would find the One Ring. Then they would face Azog. Now, Lorin needed to decide if she should allow the hobbit to keep it until after Mirkwood. Perhaps that was for the best. Lorin would take the Ring while in Laketown. 

The real problem was her mother never told her much about after Smaug flew off to burn Laketown and was slain by Bard. The story’s end was always sudden. Smaug was dead. A battle happened, although he mother never told her really why the battle happened or anything like that. All Lorin knew about the battle was that her father and cousin Fíli were killed by Azog while Kíli was killed by Bolg. But that was it. The only reason Lorin even knew that much was because, as a child, Lorin had kept asking where her father and cousins were since they sounded so cool in her mother’s stories. 

Lorin sighed.

Whatever happens, she’ll change what is supposed to be. She has to. 

***

Bramble was very much NOT staring at Thorin’s chest. It wasn’t as though he were the handsomest person she had ever seen. It wasn’t as though his voice was so rich and deep it made her toes curl. 

She had been worried about Thorin after they overheard Gandalf, Lord Elrond, and Lorin talking. But overall, she was more confused on why she was worried. He was a grown, battle-hardened dwarf. He could take care of himself. She could certainly see that. 

It didn’t help that Thorin had offered to walk her back to her rooms. They hadn’t talked much on their way back but he had dipped his head slightly and said, “Goodnight, Miss Baggins,” before leaving. His blue eyes had looked into hers and she felt a sudden pull towards him until he turned away. 

That certainly hadn’t gone any place, like against the door, in her head. 

She was a middle-aged spinster. 

She wasn’t some tween. 

Well, she certainly felt like one as she watched the dwarrow practice. 

“You should ask Thorin to teach you how to use your letter opener,” Lorin said, plopping down next to her. “Or at least Dwalin. You should learn.”

“It’s not as though orcs are going to be a regular occurance. I should be fine.”

Lorin didn’t look at her, but the dwobbit’s eyes darkened. They blue orbs were distant and they vaguely reminded Bramble of Thorin’s when Balin had talked of Moria and the Pale Orc. 

“I can ask,” Bramble said quietly. 

The younger woman’s lips twitched slightly. “It would be for the best.”

***

“So,” Kíli sat next to Lorin as she readied her mat next to Bramble’s. “You have a hobbit lad or a dwarf back home?”

She looked at him with a cocked eyebrow that reminded Kíli so much of his amad that he almost wished he hadn’t asked. Almost. “No.”

“Good. That’s good.” He nodded. 

“Does your question have a point?”

“Not really, no.”

She nodded. “I’m not bearded enough for a dwarf and not small enough for a hobbit. Besides, all the hobbits I was close to aged more quickly than me. It was… hard to make friends. And I didn’t know any dwarrow before this. Only my mum’s stories.”

“You’re not bad looking by dwarf standards. Just so you know.” 

She snorted. “I don’t have time to think about romance. Never had it, I think.”

“Do you believe in Ones?”

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. “You ask a lot considering your questions aren’t supposed to have a point.”

Kíli shrugged. “Just curious. We know a lot about Bramble. We don’t know a lot about you.”

“There isn’t much to know.”

“You look sad a lot when you think the others aren’t looking.” She stiffened. “Why is that?”

She glanced away. “It’s personal.”

He nodded. Kíli glanced at his older brother for a moment. Whatever she had gone through before they met in the Shire, Fíli was going to have a hard time getting through the wall that she had obviously surrounded herself with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we’ll get to the goblins next!


	9. Chapter 9

“No!” Bramble heard Lorin’s scream as she watched the hobbit slip over the edge. The dwobbit’s hand shot out and was only briefly able to grams Bramble’s before the slickness of rain caused her to slip further down the ledge. Bramble was barely able to find purchase on the ledge. 

A few of the dwarrow, Bramble couldn’t see who, were reaching for her, calling to her. 

She was going to die here. She was going to die—

A sudden heat seemed to explode through one side of her body as an arm wrapped around her. She turned to look and found Thorin’s eyes boring into her. As soon as her eyes met his, he hoisted her up into Dwalin’s arms, but was quickly transferred to Lorin. 

The other woman screamed again and Bramble turned to see Thorin has slipped. 

Bramble’s heart stop and her scream knotted in her throat. 

It only returned when Dwalin hauled the dwarf king back onto the mountain path. 

Trying to break the tension, Bofur said, “I almost thought we had lost our burglar.”

“She’s been lost ever since she left home,” Thorin growled. His gaze focused on Bramble for a few moments before he turned away. “She should never have come.”

They found a cave to rest in and the company began to unpack for the night. 

“Don’t take off your weapons,” Lorin said loudly. Everyone turned to her, questioning what she meant. “We don’t know what else is here. If there are stone giants there could be other things.”

The others seemed to agree with this.

***

Thorin hadn’t meant what he said. He had said it out of worry. He hadn’t actually wanted his—the—hobbit to leave. But she had stayed, and now she was lost over the side of the cavern path and Thorin felt everything in his chest sear into a numb pain. 

He thought nothing could be worse until the goblin king ordered to bring out the youngest. His heart stopped as the goblins yanked at Lorin’s hair and she screamed. His chest burned with something he didn’t understand. It felt as though it were the boys who had been taken, yet it was different. 

“Wait!” He pushed himself forward. She was just a child. She was just—

“Well, well, well, look who it is! Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King Under The Mountain.” He gave Thorin a mocking bow. “Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you nobody, really. But I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak. A vengeful enemy of yours.”

“Azog is dead.”

He saw Lorin grow pale and she began to tremble as the goblins let her go. She scrambled over to the others and Thorin caught sight of his oldest nephew pulling her behind him. Good. 

The goblin king smiled. “Send word to Azog.”

***

They fled. 

Fíli slashed at the goblins his back occasionally hitting against Lorin or Kíli’s. Everything was going well until they fell. Well, it was still fine. It’s just that Lorin fell on top of him. 

He wheezed as he felt her pressed against a part of his body he really didn’t want to think about. Mahal, she was soft. Softer than any dam he had fought against in the training halls. Sure there was a hardness to her (oh, that was such a bad word to use). But she was soft especially where her chest pressed into his. 

Almost as soon as she was on him, she was off. 

She rolled off him and missed being crushed by the now dead goblin king. 

“Come on! We need to get out of here!”

She looked so unaffected.

Fíli’s mind buzzed. He wasn’t sure if he was happy that she hadn’t seemed to notice how his body had reacted to her pressed to him or if he was disappointed that she hadn’t seemed affected at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, Azog!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter this one. Enjoy!

“No,” Bramble said, stepping out from behind the tree. “She isn’t.”

In an instant, Lorin’s arms were thrown around Bramble’s neck and the woman buried her nose there as well. The hobbit felt a warm wetness rub against her skin and she began to stroke the lass’ back with soothing circles. The other dwarves cheered at her return, but her gaze remained on Thorin. 

He was looking at her as though she were the sun itself—something he had never been able to see before, but only now has gotten a glimpse of. 

“Why did you come back?”

Because you are my home, she thought. Because no matter where I go, your voice on that first night where you sang of the home you lost still trembles through my bones. 

“Look, I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you're right. I often think of Bag End. I miss my books, and my armchair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home.” Because he was a king and she was just a hobbit. “And you don't have one, a home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.”

Thorin opened his mouth to reply when a howl ripped through the air. The dwarf king swore. 

“Out of the frying pan—” Lorin pulled herself away from Bramble. 

“And into the fire. Run! Run!” Gandalf called. 

They fled until there was nowhere to go but up. 

Lorin kept pushing Bramble further and further up the tree. The young dwobbit was trembling and Bramble was almost certain she was near tears. Why? What was she so afraid of?

Then, the flight shifted when a pale orc astride a white warg sauntered towards them. 

“Azog,” Thorin’s voice was barely a whisper but it hushed around the trees like the wind. 

The orc began to speak in a language she did not know, but made her stomach churn into disgust and fear. Bramble couldn’t look at him. She had to look at Thorin. He would know what to do. She heard the orc speak the king’s name. 

“It cannot be.” It was a pained whisper then, as though Thorin couldn’t breath. 

The wargs began to lunge for the trees, trying to claw their way up to the company. Lorin pushed Bramble up further towards Thorin and screamed when the branch she had just been standing on was snapped in a warg’s jaw. 

“Lorin!” Fíli’s voice rang out through the trees. Bramble looked at the tree he was in and found the blond dwarf growling at his helplessness. In his anger, Bramble watched as he stabbed a warg that had gotten too close in the eye. 

Then, the trees began to collapse. 

They were forced to cling to the remaining tree and Bramble prayed to Yavanna or whatever Valar were watching that they would make it out of this. 

Then, Gandalf had the genius idea of flaming pine cones. If this were any other moment, Bramble might chastise the wizard for burning on of Yavanna’s creations, but at the moment she didn’t care. She supposed that meant she was praying to Mahal at the moment. 

Fire caught quickly and the wargs retreated. The company began to celebrate their victory too early as the tree they all remained on began to rio by the roots. 

They fell until the tree was hanging off the cliff, extending it. Bramble heard a cry and saw Ori had fallen and was dangling by Dori’s foot. The silver haired dwarf called out to Gandalf and the wizard was barely able to reach them with his staff before Dori lost grip of the tree. 

Suddenly, Thorin stood. Bramble’s eyes widened as he began to walk forward towards the cliff and towards Azog. Her heart began to pound in her ears. He was going to die. He was going to die.

Thorin was going to die!

The stupid dwarf began to run and Bramble watched in horror as Azog and his steed kept to him. Lorin screamed as he was knocked backwards by the warg’s mighty paw. Now Azog was set between them and Thorin. 

She heard Balin cry out as Thorin stood and was hit upside the head by Azog’s club. Bramble scrambled up to stand just as the warg took him in its mouth. The company began to cry out for their leader and king. 

Thorin was then tossed on the ground. 

He did not get up. 

Another orc began to make his way to Thorin and without thought, Bramble drew her glowing sword, remembering nothing Dwalin or Lorin had taught her. She sprinted to Thorin and just as the orc lifted his sword to take Thorin from this world. In an instant, she barreled into him and stabbed it repeatedly. 

Bramble had just killed someone.

The realization wouldn’t hit until later. 

All that mattered at the moment was Thorin. 

She stood between him, the dwarf who insulted and bewitched her body and soul, and the orc who would take him from her. 

Azog smirked at her and Bramble’s entire body went cold. She faltered, stepping back, closer to Thorin. 

Then, someone flashed past her and stood between Bramble and Thorin and the orcs. 

***

“My name is Lorin! Daughter of the Line of Durin and you will not touch them!”

***

It felt as though Balin had been brought back to Moria. 

Lorin stood between Bramble and Thorin, holding the latter’s oak shield in one hand and her glowing sword in the other. 

Azog howled in rage. The name of Durin stirring his blood thirst. 

“No!” Fíli’s scream pierced the night air as Azog leapt from his warg to finish the girl himself. “Kurdel!”

A knot formed in Balin’s throat. But he could not turn away. Azog lifted his club and brought it down against Lorin’s shield. She used the momentum to swing Azog to the side directing his approach away from Bramble, who was now checking on Thorin, and the king. 

Azog brought down his club again. Lorin fell against the weight of it and Balin had to close his eyes then. Fíli’s cries grew more and more desperate and then there was silence. 

Then, Azog roared. 

Balin opened his eyes and saw Azog clutching his face as blood seeped through his fingers. Lorin was standing once more. The shield still in her grip and her lips parted in a smile that would scare even Dwalin. 

“That’s for my family!” She roared, pushing the orc back. “Go back to your master and tell him Lorin, daughter of earth and stone, will be his end!” She swung her sword once more and and sliced open the back of Azog’s hand. 

That was when the company began to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kurdel – Khuzdul for “heart of all hearts”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s this?! A Wednesday release!?

“Are you okay?” Fíli whispered, wrapping his arms around his One after the eagles had put them down. She smelled like smoke and firewood. He pulled back slightly and she looked at him in slight confusion as he cupped her jaw. 

“I’m fine,” she said, patting the hand on her jaw gently. “I’m okay.” She smiled up at him. “I’ve never done something like that before. Looking back, that was incredibly stupid. I could have die—”

His lips crashed into hers. He plundered her mouth with his tongue and explored its depths. She tasted of ash and iron and blood. She was warm. She was alive. She was—

In a panic, he pulled back. She had never given him any indication that she wanted him. She had never shown any interest. She had never—

“Fíli, I—”

“No,” he closed his eyes, biting into his lower lip. “I shouldn’t have—I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re okay.” He pulled away and turned from her, his face burned in embarrassment. 

“Fíli, wait.” She reached out and caught him by the elbow. “Please.”

He stiffened. Slowly, he turned and gave her his full attention. “Lorin, I—”

“I never thought about romance,” she said quickly. “Ever since I came here, the only thing I’ve thought about has been this quest. I don’t even know what will happen after this is all over. It isn’t that I don’t like you, Fíli. I do.” She chewed her lip and looked down and then back up to him. “There’s… I’m not…” she sighed. “I didn’t plan this. I’m not sure what I’m doing. I’m not sure what will happen after. I can’t make plans when I don’t know how this ends. The last time I did I lost everything. The last time I thought with my heart instead of my head I wasn’t able to protect some of the people who mattered most to me. I got left behind. I can’t do that right now.”

Well, Fíli was certain this was the noblest way anyone in all of Arda had ever been let down gently. “I understand. I apologize again for doing that without asking. Forgive me.”

Lorin smiled gently. She pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. “I don’t know what this quest will bring. I can only hope for the outcome I seek. When this is all over, kiss me again and we’ll see.”

His One stepped back and went to check on Bramble and Thorin. 

***

It was the middle of the night and Thorin had been firm in his decision to be the one who kept lookout. Lorin had mumbled about how they would be safe so no one actually needed to be on duty at all, but Thorin wanted to be cautious. 

He glanced over at the dwobbit. She was currently asleep next to his oldest nephew. She was pressed against his side, her head on his shoulder and a hand against his heart. Normally, Thorin wouldn’t have allowed them into such a position. But considering his nephew’s protective nature and the rather taxing experience she had gone through in the past day, Thorin didn’t begrudge the two for finding some comfort in each other. 

Lorin had returned his shield to him and he asked Balin how she came to possess it. His oldest advisor was quick to sing the girl’s praises and tell of her bravery. He had done the same for Bramble, but with Lorin it was obvious that Balin was praising the girl’s dwarven skill. 

“Are you okay?” Bramble asked, as she sat down next to Thorin, bringing him from his thoughts. 

“I’m just a little sore.”

Before he could say any more, the hobbit—his One—checked his bandages. “These need to be changed.” She looked up at him. “Do you want to do this here or do you want more privacy? I know you don’t like worrying the company.”

He watched her carefully. Her delicate fingers ghosted across his skin and bandages. “Privacy,” he breathed, his voice strangely hoarse. “If you don’t mind, of course.”

“Not at all.”

Bramble helped Thorin get a little further away from camp and helped him back down again. She slowly began to take off his bandages and rebind his fresher wounds. His hobbit noticed a scar across his shoulder. When she finished her ministrations, she touched the puckered skin. 

“Where did you get this?”

“I got it when I battled Azog the first time when I lost my first shield.”

“And this one?” Her fingers traveled down to his chest.

“Bandits.”

“And here?”

“A failed coup.”

She looked at him then and a blush bloomed across her cheeks. Bramble turned away trying to think of what to say or do. Whether in panic or after a moment of thinking, she pressed her lips to the scar on his shoulder. Instantly, Thorin cupped the back of her head and had her look at him. 

“I would not advise you not to do that again, Miss Baggins,” he whispered. His thumb traced her cheek tenderly. “Not unless…” he searched her gaze. “My heart is yours, Bramble Baggins, and it already pains me to send you into the dragon’s lair as it is. When this is over, I will come to you on my knees and spend the rest of the time we are given as a man who loves you. I cannot bare to see you in danger if I claim you now.”

“Thorin,” the way she said his name sent a shiver up his spine. “If I have learned anything today, is that time is never guaranteed. There might not be tomorrow. There might not be an after. All we have for certain is now.” She cupped his face in her hands. All we can do is decide what we wish to do with the time that has been given us.”

Thorin pulled her into his lap and pressed his lips to hers. Bramble sighed and shifted her position so she was straddling his hips. He plundered her mouth and she explored his in turn. The dwarf king worshiped her. His hands explored her body as though it were a shrine to Mahal himself. His lips caressed her skin and tasted every inch of her soft flesh. She, in turn, explored his body and sighed against him as he claimed her and she claimed him. They were equals in this moment. She chanted his name breathlessly into the air as though in prayer. He called hers into her neck as though she were the only thing keeping him breathing. She was his and he was hers. They were One. 

After they were both spent, he held her to his chest and pressed tender kisses to her temple. “I love you,” he whispered into her hair like a promise. “I love you. I love you.”

“I love you too, Thorin.”

They had to go their separate ways for the rest of the night. He still needed to keep watch and she needed to sleep. However, she slept closer to him now and their hands remained entwined. 

For the first time in a long while, Thorin felt at peace. 

***

Lorin pressed her cheek against Fíli’s shoulder. Her mind was spinning even before he had kissed her. She had liked it when he kissed her. She had liked the way his hands had felt as they briefly held her hips. She had liked the way he tasted. But it was too much. 

Her chest began to hollow again and she curled up even closer to his side and his hold tightened on her waist. Yavanna it hurt. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She knew her parents would have survived the past night even without her interference, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself. 

She heard movement and briefly glanced at Bramble helping Thorin get a little further away from camp. 

Lorin felt her entire body grow warm with embarrassment. Curse Merry and that stupid wine. Of course Mad Baggins wouldn’t tell her daughter how the end of the story of the dwarrow went. Of course Merry thought it would be funny to ask the very drunk Bramble when Lorin was conceived. Of course her mother would answer that question. Lorin had been stuck for a quarter of an hour listening to her mother almost gush at the one and only time she had been with Lorin’s father. Mahal, she even told Lorin how many times her mother had been brought to pleasure. 

The dwobbit shuddered. Curse Merry and all the Tooks who thought it was hilarious for her to know when she was conceived. 

When she was conceived. 

What would happen when the baby was born this time? Was it safe for Lorin to stay? 

She glanced up at Fíli whose head was bent slightly so that his lips ghosted across the crown of her head. If she guessed correctly, she was Fíli’s One and he might be hers—she wasn’t sure. But what about the baby then? 

Her chest stung with pain and hollowed out again. 

This is why she didn’t make plans for the future. She just needed to make sure they all lived through this and the Ring was destroyed. That’s all that mattered right now. Her feelings and the worries they caused could be pushed aside for later. Now was the time to focus on others. She shouldn’t be selfish and think only of herself.


	12. Chapter 12

“He hates orcs more, so we’ll be okay,” Lorin told them. 

“How do you know that?” Kíli asked. 

“I know of him.”

“Does he know you?” Fíli’s arm was still around Lorin’s waist and Kíli was certain his brother had barely let Lorin out of his site. 

“No.”

That was one thing that confused Kíli about the dwobbit. She seemed to know so much and so many people but none of the seem to technically know her. If she were some famous person, certainly they would have heard about her somewhere. Especially since she’s part dwarf. 

“Young Lorin is correct. For now, it is best to rest and everything will be handled in the morning.”

The company made themselves comfortable as they found places to sleep. Kíli was a little surprised that Lorin allowed herself to be led to bed by Fíli. He was happy for his brother true and based on what Fíli had told him, it was very likely that his affections were returned. Kíli just wasn’t sure why Lorin was putting off making this official. 

Kíli never actually thought about how small Lorin was until he saw her curled up against his brother. She looked vulnerable. The sadness he had sensed in her earlier in the quest wasn’t quite so palpable as before, but it was still buried deep within her. 

Someone had hurt the dwobbit. Someone had made her into this colder version of herself. There had been moments where her true self shined through, usually around Fíli, Thorin, or Bramble. Underneath the coldness and the secrecy was a girl who was shy and doubtful and trying. 

When Kíli and Fíli has been allowed to come on the quest, their mother had warned them that they would be changed by the end of the quest. Personally, Kíli hoped that, for her and Fíli’s sake, Lorin find peace afterwards and she need not fear whatever it was she seemed afraid of. 

***

Olórin was rather nervous about the company’s introduction to the skin changer. Beorn was a wise creature and, if what some of the vague things Lorin had said were true, this is the same home she had faded in. Fading was a very sad but very strong form of magic. The istar has no doubt that this was partly why Lorin was staying so close to Fíli. 

He wasn’t sure if Lorin was able to have a One like her dwarven family did or if she were similar to hobbits who sometimes just knew. Regardless, she had always naturally gravitated towards Fíli whenever her focus wasn’t solely on her parents. 

Olórin was also worried because, at times, he felt Lorin’s soul flicker. It didn’t happen often, but it tended to happen in quiet moments at night when she seemed to have too much time to think. He could sense her soul grow cold and stutter. 

The istar was especially worried considering this is where she had faded. This place would always be connected to Lorin as the last place she had been in her own time. The magic of her fading seemed to be different from how other hobbits experienced it. Whether this was because of what the Valar had done or if it was because she was half dwarf, Olórin wasn’t sure. 

He would have to keep an eye on the youngest Durin. 

***

Balin watched in trepidation as the came to meet the skin changer. He was the tallest person the advisor had ever seen. The older dwarf felt some consolation over the fact that Lorin didn’t seem frightened of him. The lass seemed to have quite the good judge of character. 

They all settled in to have a large breakfast. There was no meat, but it was hardy. None of them would be complaining, although the animals put all of them but Lorin and Tharkûn on edge. 

“So, Thorin Oakenshield. You wish to take back your mountain.”

The king-in-exile stiffened. “I do.”

Beorn nodded. “I can understand that. If I were able, I would take back my own, but there are no others to help me.”

“If you find yourself missing the mountain side, you are welcome to find yourself a home at the base of Erebor,” Thorin said graciously. 

The skin changer nodded. “That would be welcome.” He glanced around at the rest of the company. “I can see why you have decided to make this stand now though. Your pregnant mate and your child deserve a home.”

Bramble, who had been drinking some milk spat it out and coughed. She blinked up at the skin changer. “What?”

“I can smell the babe on you know,” he motioned towards the hobbit. “It’s why you need to eat more. Although,” he looked at Lorin then, “it is rather strange that you waited so long between pregnancies. Your daughter is rather old for a younger sibling.”

The dwobbit turned bright red and her eyes grew wide. “I… I’m not… they aren’t… I… no… um…”

“I believe, young Lorin, now is the time for the truth,” Tharkûn says with a dull gleam in his eye. “Perhaps it is time for you to tell us what your plans are.”

The dwobbit sucked in a quick breath. Then, she sighed. “Give me a moment. I need to be brave.”

She hopped down from her seat and went into another room so no one else could see her. After a short while, Lorin stepped out and Balin’s breath caught in his throat. 

Her hair was so much like Thorin’s it was almost painful. There was the royal Durin braid and bead. There was one that indicated that she was a princess, Balin was almost certain it was one of Lady Dís.’ There was a bead and braid that indicated she was a blacksmith and then one extra one that showed that she was unattached. She looked every bit like a young Thorin that Balin was surprised he hadn’t thought about it sooner. 

“My name is Lorin, daughter of Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain, and his unofficial consort Bramble Baggins of the Shire, the last of the Line of Durin.” She gave a short curtsy. “At your service.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: the company hears the truth!


	13. Chapter 13

Bramble’s eyes widened. She looked to Lorin and then to Thorin and then back again. This was…

“That’s impossible,” Thorin’s voice sounded as though he were not breathing. 

“It should be,” Lorin said quietly. “But I’m here.” She pointed to Bramble. “And there too, I suppose.”

The hobbit put her hand over her stomach. “But…”

“I don’t know how it happened. All I know is I closed my eyes and I work up the morning of the day my parents met.”

“Your father died before you were born.” It was Dwalin who spoke. His voice was strangled. “If Bramble is pregnant then—”

Bramble’s heart stuttered in her chest. “Thorin is going to die… Does… Is this quest a failure?”

Thorin took in a sharp breath and he took Bramble’s hand and squeezed it. 

Lorin shook her head. “The quest is a success. I don’t know much about what happened after the dragon was killed. My mother didn’t like talking about it. My adad died—he was killed within the month.”

“What happened?” Ori asked, his voice quiet. 

“My adad and my cousin Fíli were killed by Azog the Defiler and my cousin Kíli was killed by his son Bolg in what will come to be known as the Battle of the Five Armies. Lord Dáin of the Iron Hills becomes king. My adad’s advisor, Master Balin, worried that my mother or I might be used by some nefarious dwarf. My mother raised me in the Shire and I never met any of you save for Glóin.” She glanced at the ginger dwarf. “You couldn’t acknowledge me publicly though. Too dangerous. His son Gimli and I actually became friends for a brief time.”

She was fiddling with her tunic. It was a gesture Bramble often took when nervous. “My mother took the last boat to the Undying Lands with Gandalf, Lord Elrond, Lady Galadriel, and my cousin Frodo. I traveled a bit and then, suddenly I was here.”

She was hiding something. Bramble was sure of it. But she wasn’t sure what it was. 

***

“You say the quest was successful. Why was there a battle?” Dwalin asked. He had thought the dwobbit looked like Dís. Now, it made more sense. It didn’t make complete sense, but it did make more of it. 

The lass shrugged. “My mother didn’t like talking about it. Gandalf was the one to tell me how my adad and cousins died. All I know is that the dwarrow, the elves, the orcs, the men, and the eagles all fight and that’s all.”

“You said you had another quest.” Thorin finally spoke again. “What is it?”

She looked away as though she were a child caught sneaking out. Dwalin supposed that she sort of was. 

“When the time comes, I’ll go and face the dragon. Bramble doesn’t have to.”

“Then why let Bramble come in the first place?” Balin asked. 

“I wasn’t sure what would happen if I…” She turned pink. “I wasn’t sure what would happen if I wasn’t conceived.” Dwalin saw both Bramble and Thorin turn bright red. “Besides. My mother loved my adad. There was never anyone else after him. From what little Glóin told me, it sounded like he loved her as well.” She lifted her chin in such a way that she could only be a Durin. “My mother suffered enough, let me take the burden away from her. I think I know how to make things better too. When she went against the dragon, she accidentally sent it on a rampage to Lake Town. I think I can stop that from happening.”

“And the battle?” Dwalin asked. 

She shrugged. “After the dragon fell my mother stopped telling the story. None of us in the Shire could get it out of her. Avoid Ravenhill is the only advice I can give. That’s where my family died in my time.”

***

Lorin wondered where she should sleep. 

She had been sleeping next to Fíli the past two nights, but what if he didn’t want her to anymore? She was so much younger than him. Technically she hadn’t even been born yet. She hadn’t been able to look at him when she told everyone the truth. 

“Lorin? Do you want to sleep next to me tonight?” Bramble asked tentatively. 

“It’s fine,” Lorin answered quickly. “I kinda wanted to sleep outside tonight. You know. Fresh air and all that.” She didn’t want Bramble to worry. 

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” Inwardly, though, Lorin begged the hobbit to ask just one more time. She knew it would be different. She knew it hadn’t happened in her own time. But she wished she could fall asleep in her mother’s arms while she told Lorin everything will be alright. She desperately hoped for that. 

“Alright…” Bramble smiled slightly. “Goodnight.”

Lorin smiled stiffly. “Night.”

Taking a deep breath, the dwobbit went outside and made herself comfortable amongst the mosses and wildflowers that grew along the side of the house. She sat down and looked up at the night sky. It was the same night sky she grew up with. She closed her eyes and she laid down. She had done this plenty of times when she was a fauntling. She’d sneak out and sleep on top of the smial. It usually happened when she had nightmares of dragonfire and melting gold and cold forests. 

She’d never been able to go to her mother. The first night she had thought of doing so, she had made it all the way to her mother’s room and heard her crying. She peaked in and saw her mother holding Lorin’s father’s coat. She didn’t have the courage to disturb her mother. She had enough to worry about. 

She had only been twenty then. Lorin still thought her father was away because he had kingly things to do and needed to have Erebor settled before he would send someone from the company, maybe one of her cousins, to get them. So, she had made a habit of sleeping on top of the smial, waiting for her father to come and get her and make her mother happy. 

She’d been twenty-two when her mother finally told her that her adad wasn’t coming to get them because he had passed away before Lorin was born. She had called her mother a liar and had run away to try and go find her father and bring him to the Shire and show her mother how much of a liar she was. She hadn’t made it that far when one of the Tooks found her and brought her home. 

She discovered sleeping out in the open helped calm her. She could still imagine that her father was coming to get her. 

Lorin opened her eyes when she heard a cough. She looked up and saw Fíli standing over her. She sat up quickly. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure, because you don’t look okay.”

“I’m sure.”

He nodded and then promptly plopped down next to her. He laid down instantly and extended his arm so it would be underneath her if she laid down. 

“Fíli?”

“Your my One, Lorin,” he said, his blue eyes looking into hers. “You’ve been alone long enough. Don’t you think?”

Tears began to form in her eyes and Fíli quickly pulled her down in his arms. She burrowed into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to the crown of her head. The prince began to hum to her softly and it rumbled through his chest and into her very soul. 

For the first time in a long while, Lorin didn’t feel alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don’t hate older Bramble. She was a bad mom, but she was the best that she could be considering the circumstances.


	14. Chapter 14

“Do you have any advice for Mirkwood?” Thorin asked the young dwobbit.

His daughter. 

His. 

His and Bramble’s. 

A daughter stood before him and yet… Bramble was with child, with her, as well. 

Lorin looked at him with eyes that were his own. How had he not seen it before. “Don’t fall into the river and don’t shoot the white deer.”

“Do we run into any elves?” He asked. 

She nodded. “You were taken prisoner by Thranduil. You get out because Mum gets you out—she wasn’t captured.”

“Do you think we should make our presence known?”

Lorin shrugged. “I became friends with Thranduil’s son Legolas. He’s a good elf, didn’t particularly care for dwarrow when I met him but he and Glóin’s son, Gimli, become friends. I don’t know if he’s here. My mum never saw him, but she tended to stay away from elves when she was sneaking around.” She chewed her bottom lip. “I honestly don’t know any other way out of the Mirkwood. Mum says you guys were lost when the elves found you. I’ll talk to Bramble and make sure she knows what she needs to do before we run into any elves.”

“Lorin?”

“Hm?”

“We know you’re mine and Bramble’s daughter. You can…” Mahal, what was he trying to say? “You could refer to us as…”

Lorin blinked up at him. “I don’t feel comfortable doing that. I mean… Bramble’s very different from my mum and I…” she looked away. “I don’t really know you that well.”

Thorin’s heart sank. It was true. He hadn’t spent that much time with Lorin during this quest. He hadn’t spent much time with his nephew’s either. Of course she would feel uncomfortable calling him anything but his name. 

“After the quest, I’ll show you the halls of Erebor. We can… talk.”

Lorin’s lips quirked into a smile. “That would be nice.”

***

When they set out on ponies toward the Mirkwood, Lorin sat behind Fíli. He didn’t ask her what had been bothering her the previous night. As her arms wrapped around his waist and her cheek pressed against his shoulder, he felt more at home than he had ever before.

He wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t floored by the revelation that Lorin, his One, was also Thorin’s daughter, his cousin. It wasn’t uncommon for cousins to marry amongst the dwarrow. There were so few dams as it were. He knew his mother had been engaged to her cousin Thór before the fall of Erebor, before she met Fíli’s father. It made things less complicated, especially for circumstances such as this one. 

He was Thorin’s heir and she was Thorin’s daughter. Politically, it made sense. It was a blessing from Mahal that she was his One as well. 

“So Lorin,” Kíli said as he rode up next to them. “What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever done? It has to be pretty ridiculous since you’ve apparently traveled back in time.”

Lorin chuckled and pulled back from Fíli to think for a moment. “I once flooded Bag End by accident.”

“What?!” That got most of the company’s attention. 

“Yeah,” she shrugged. “Mum was out of the smial for something and she was gone for a while so I went out to play and got really dirty. I decided to take a bath but didn’t think about turning off the faucet so I went to make myself a snack. Mum came home a few hours after that to find me trying to figure out how to float in such shallow water.” She grinned. “I got in so much trouble.”

Fíli grinned at his brother’s next words. “We are going to have so much fun once we get back the mountain. 

***

Olórin dismounted his steed and headed towards the gateway. “Here lies our path through Mirkwood.”

The company began to dismount as well. Bramble and Lorin appeared on high alert. 

“This forest feels...sick, as if a disease lies upon it. Is there no way around?”

“No,” Lorin replied. “Not if we don’t want to be late for Durin’s Day.”

The company followed Olórin into the entrance, if only to see what the Mirkwood looks like. The istar followed the path a few feet further into the shadows and approached a plant-covered statue. He quickly tore the vines away, revealing a painted eye of Sauron. 

From behind him, Lorin gasped. He turned to see that she had gone pale and was trembling. “This is why the forest is sick. How could… Why would Thranduil allow such decay?” She looked up at the istar. “You have to leave. This is why you didn’t go with them to Mirkwood last time.”

“You’re leaving us?” Bramble asked in horror. 

“I would not leave if I did not have to.” Olórin turned to Thorin. “I will return as soon as I am able. I shall try to meet you at the gate before the end of Durin’s Day.”

Olórin made his way back to his horse. Lorin followed him. “Be careful,” she said softly. 

He glanced down at her. “Is this why you wish to destroy the Ring?”

The dwobbit nodded. “My cousin, Frodo, carries it to Mount Doom to destroy it. Even so Sauron almost rose to power. I need to destroy it before he gathers his forces. Dragon fire is my best option. If all else fails, I’ll carry it to Mount Doom myself after this is all over.”

“Be careful, my dear. This place is dangerous.” Lorin nodded. “Look after them.”

She smiled. “With my life.”


	15. Chapter 15

Bramble felt reassured that Lorin began to stick closer to her as they made their way through the forest. This place made the hobbit feel ill. The forest was sick and the cold seemed to seep into Bramble’s bones. She placed her hand over her stomach, vowing that her little one would be safe. 

“Is it supposed to be like this?” Bramble asked. 

Lorin shook her head. “Darkness is rising. I haven’t felt this cold since I fought the Nazgûl.”

Bramble’s jaw dropped and she was certain Thorin, who was leading them had stopped breathing. 

“You what!?” Balin cried out. 

“Sh!” Lorin hissed, pressing a finger to her lips. “I wasn’t alone. I was with a Ranger named Aragorn. Well, he was King Aragorn of Gondor when I… well. He was king.”

“Are you saying Sauron’s forces were present in your time lass?” Dwalin asked. “And that you fought them?”

“I wasn’t allowed to.” Bramble thought Lorin sounded rather bitter about that. “I only got to fight the Nazgûl and that was because my cousins were idiots and lighted a fire when we were on the run. My cousin Frodo got stabbed by one. We were lucky that Lady Arwen, Lord Elrond’s daughter, was there to help.” She glanced over at Glóin. “Gimli got to fight more than I did. He killed many an orc and even fought in the final battle at the Black Gates of Mordor.”

Glóin seemed to puff up with pride at that.

Bramble’s fingers brushed against the outside of her pocket where the Ring stayed. Lorin had explained what it was and what Bramble needed to do. Even so, she couldn’t believe there would be a war over such a little thing. 

“It must have been quite the journey.” Ori said. 

“From what Frodo told me it was. And Pippin and Merry has a wild time too.”

“Why weren’t you allowed to go?” Kíli asked. “Were you not of age?”

“I was. They just didn’t trust me to…” She grimaced. “Everyone thought it wouldn’t be wise for me to go. Gandalf’s excuse was that he led three Durins to their deaths and he didn’t want to lose another one. He said he owed my mum that much.”

***

Olórin walked up a hill and found the ruins. He made his way up carefully climbing up a narrow stone ledge built into the side of a tall, bare mountain. Just as he reached a door in the side of the mountain, the stone ledge he was on crumbled away and he began to fall. Luckily, he managed to catch himself and climb onto the entrance of the doorway. A set of metal interlocking bars that had, in the past, covered the doorway were now broken and bent away from the opening. 

The istar stepped through the doorway and into a short tunnel going into the mountain. He was suddenly grabbed by some great force and was pulled swiftly into the mountain. The tunnel itself ended in a cast, cavernous hollow in the mountain and the ground fell away into the distance at the end. Olórin managed to stop himself from falling into the pit. 

He blew at the end of his staff and made it glow. With the light, he examined his surroundings. On the far wall of the cavern, he saw a door similar to the one he had entered and he went carefully to it on the narrow stone steps in the sides of the cavern. This door’s metalgate had also been broken and bent away. Olórin entered the crypt and saw the tomb inside. However, the cover of the tomb had been broken. 

Suddenly, a bird flew out of the tomb at the istar and Olórin startled and turned, only to find Radagast behind him.    


“Oh, it’s you!”

“Why am I here, Gandalf?”

“Trust me, Radagast. I would not have called you here without good reason.”   


Radagast removed his hat and three birds flew into the nest on his head before he placed the hat back on his head. “This is not a nice place to meet.”   
  
“No, it is not.”   


They exited the crispy and looked around the cavern.    


“Theses are dark spells, Gandalf. Old, and full of hate. Who was buried here?”   
  
“If he had a name, it’s long since been lost. He would have been known only as a servant of evil. One of a number. One of nine.” Olórin   
illuminated the lower part of the cavern and saw that the other eight crypts had been broken like the first. 

The two istar made their way down the mountain.    


“Why now, Gandalf? I don’t understand.”   
  
“The Ringwraiths have been summoned to Dol Guldur.”   
  
“But it cannot be the Necromancer. A human sorcerer could not summon such evil.”   
  
“Who said it was human?”   


Radagast stopped abruptly. “You cannot possible mean—”   


“The Nine only answer to one master. We’ve been blind, Radagast, and in our blindness, the Enemy has returned.” Radagast looked at him in shock. “Lady Lorin’s presence here changes everything. Her mother had been pregnant with her while using the ring. No doubt some of its own power has rubbed off on her. The darkness within her is not outwardly destructive, but I fear what will happen if she is unable to finish the task she has set out for herself. She barely defeated Azog the Defiler. The enemy is preparing for war and it will begin in the East. I fear his mind is set upon the mountain. I fear for her and the others.” He turned to walk away. 

“Where are you going?”   
  
“To rejoin the others.”   
  
“Gandalf!”   
  
“I started this; I cannot forsake them. They are all in grave danger.”   
  
“If what you say is true, the world is in grave danger. The power in that fortress will only grow stronger.”   
  
“The enemy will grow stronger regardless. Our only hope is to help Lady Lorin fulfill the duty she has come here to do.” Olórin remembered the youngest Durin’s reaction to Sauron’s influence. She had paled visibly to it. “Before it’s too late.”

***

Lorin stared at the blond elf. She couldn’t believe he was here. She cursed her luck. She had no clue what Legolas was like at this point in his life. He was a noble person but that was all she knew. And that had been based on his own account. 

“Search them,” the elf prince ordered. 

They were all searched. Fíli, who had the most weapons out of all of them and the elf searching him continued to find more and more. If it weren’t for the situation, Lorin might have found it comical. 

“ _ Are the spiders dead? _ ” Legolas asked a red headed elleth. 

“ _ Yes, but more will come. They’re growing bolder. _ ”

An elf takes Lorin’s sword as well as Thorin’s and gives them to Legolas. 

“ _ This is an ancient Elvish blade. Forged by my kin. _ ” He switched to Westron. “Where did you get this?”

“It was given to us.” He glared at the elf. 

Lorin sighed. This didn’t need to happen. Honestly. 

“Not just a thief, but a liar as well,” he said, pointing the sword at Thorin. 

“ _ We found them while on our journey, _ ” Lorin said, breaking into her Sindarin. She knew her accent was thick and she was speaking in an older dialect but she knew Legolas would be able to understand her. “ _ They were then given to us by Lord Elrond when we stopped there to replenish our supplies. _ ”

Legolas turned to her, eyebrow raised. “And who are you to receive such gifts from Lord Elrond.”

“My name is Lorin of Durinfolk, elf-friend. We’re on our way to the Iron Hills to meet with our kin for a dwarven holiday. There are orcs running about and, in order to reach our destination on time, we decided to come through the Mirkwood instead of going around it.”

“You expect me to believe a dwarf would be given the title of elf-friend?” Legolas nearly sneered. 

Oh the irony, Lorin thought. “I am not a dwarf if that helps. I am similar to a half-elf, although I have neither man nor elven blood running through my veins. If you just let us through and perhaps guide us to the other end of the forest, we will be on our way.”

Legolas stared at her for a long time. “ _ Take them. _ ”

The elves began to round up the dwarrow and Lorin dreaded the fact that she would, once again be underground, this time, however, the adrenolyn of battle would not be on her side and the darkness seeping into the forest would not help keep her dreams at bay. 


	16. Chapter 16

Bramble followed then dwarrow and their captors as they made their way down to their cells. Thorin was separated from them, but she would find him later. She needed to keep an eye on Lorin most of all, but she was going to know where most of the company was before she went exploring. 

Lorin has become quiet since the elves had captured them. Her face had become ashen and Bramble was certain she looked similar, but Lorin simply looked worse. Perhaps it was motherly instincts, perhaps she had simply grown fond of Lorin, who was to truly say.

Fíli had his arm around her. She leaned into his side and occasionally brushed her nose against his shoulder as they were moved from the others. An elf tried to pry them apart, but Fíli snarled (something Bramble was sure no one had ever heard before), “she stays with me.”

Perhaps it was because she appeared to be the only woman in the company that the elves let Lorin and Fíli remain in the same cell, but Bramble could see the utter relief that seemed to sag into Lorin’s body as she and Fíli were placed together. They remained at the bars of their cell to see where everyone else was placed. 

Bramble went to looks where everyone else was placed, but as she went, she heard Fíli whisper to her. 

“Amrâlimê, are you okay?”

Bramble didn’t see her response, but merely heard it. “Just don’t leave me alone tonight.”

***

Thorin was brought down to the cells soon after, fuming. Balin was neither happy nor impressed that he had refused a deal, but Thorin would rather die in a cell than treat with Thranduil. 

“ _ Where is Lorin? _ ” Thorin shouted in Khuzdul. 

“ _ With me _ ,” Fíli answered. “ _ I think they believe we’re married or they might have seen how sick she appears. _ ”

Dread pulsed through Thorin. Was his daughter sick? She had looked unwell in the forest. She had given Bramble a few more of her rations stating she remembered her mother saying she had grown hungry during this time. “ _ Is she okay? _ ”

Fíli was quiet for a moment, talking to Lorin. Thorin cursed every dwarf from Lorin’s time for not teaching her Khuzdul. She was of Durinfolk. Once they took the mountain, Thorin swore he would teach her their language and anything else she wished to know.

“ _ She says she just doesn’t do well in cold dark places like this. The infection of the Mirkwood isn’t helping. _ ”

“ _ Take care of her, Fíli. _ ”

“ _ She’s my One, Uncle, _ ” Fíli replied. “ _ I’ll care for her as long as she lets me. _

The fact that his daughter and his nephew and heir were Ones calmed Thorin greatly. From what he had been able to see, Lorin was a noble girl with a good head on her shoulders. Most importantly, she was his daughter and he naturally wanted the best for her. Thorin had helped raise Fíli after his father passed and had seen his heir grow into the man he was now. He knew Fíli would take care of her. Lorin, he had no doubt, would be good for Fíli as well. 

***

Lorin felt so cold. That night she snuggled against Fíli’s chest as the chill seemed to come right from her very bones. Fíli wrapped his arms around them, pulling his overcoat open and pulling her into it. Her pressed gentle kisses to her face and neck as he tried desperately to keep her warm. He whispered things in Khuzdul to her as his warm breath fanned across her. She whispered to him endearments in Hobbitish. 

She didn’t like this place. She couldn’t imagine her mother or Bramble handling this while also being exposed to the Ring. Lorin could barely stand it and she was only half-hobbit. They needed to leave soon. 

The next morning, or at least when the elves came to bring them food, was no better. The prison food wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either. It was mainly leafy foods and Lorin was certain the elves thought this funny. 

“Legolas,” she looked up at the prince and he paused at her cell. His blue eyes were so much colder than they had been in her time. Perhaps she could make him see reason. They needed to leave. They needed to band together. A bigger threat was coming. The elves would be a part of the battle too. 

Fíli shifted next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. 

“You speak to me with familiarity, dwarf,” the elf prince said. 

“Not a dwarf,” Lorin replied quickly. “And you may not know me, but I know you.”

Legolas gave a laugh and turned to leave. 

“I know what it’s like to wonder if they really love you.” The elf paused and looked back at her. “They say they do, but how can you be so sure. They wallow in their own heartbreak and they can’t see yours. I never knew my father, but his death broke my mother, split her soul in two. I got the scraps. You feel that way too, about your father.”

“You know nothing,” Legolas sneered. 

Fíli tensed next to Lorin, pulling her closer to his side. 

“I know what it’s like to wonder why you aren’t good enough. I was part of him just as you are part of your mother and yet we are not enough. Why can’t we be enough?” Lorin’s lip trembled and she squeezed Fíli’s hand. “I know what it’s like to have evil invade your home and to not be listened to. Those spiders are only the beginning. Let us go and we can put a stop to this. All of it.”

“What would a dwarf know of me. Why should I trust you?”

“You’re in love was an elleth named Tauriel. Your father doesn’t approve because of her ethnicity. She falls in love with someone else and… there’s a battle coming, Legolas. And then one even greater than that. People will die. It doesn’t matter what race you are, people are going to die. I have a way to stop it. Let us out and continue on our way and you might not lose her.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No. It’s a warning. I’ve seen my home razed to the ground by fire. I’ve seen evil corrupt the place I love. I’ve watched people I care about die.” Lorin reaches out of the bars, offering her hand to Legolas. “This is madness Legolas. You’ve seen it. This sickness in the forest is darker than your father wishes to believe. End this now and let us go. People can be saved.”

“My duty is to  _ my  _ people, not  _ yours _ .”

“When darkness descends upon us it does not matter what race you are. Will being an elf protect you from the evil of Sauron? No. Your land has already been tainted by his marks. Your mother’s statue bares the eye of Sauron. The elves are a part of this world too, Legolas. You are not above us.” She stretched her hand out further. “You don’t know me, but I know you. We can end this before it’s even begun. Do not let evil become stronger than us.”

Legolas looked back at her, his eyes narrowed. “ _ You’re fading _ .”

Lorin pulled her hand back and to her chest as s shudder of cold seemed to run through her spine. He at least had the decency to say it in Sindarin.  

“ _ Who have you lost to make you like this? _ ”

“Everyone.”

“And you wish me to risk everyone I care for too?”

“No. I want you to fight for everyone you care for too. You are not a bad person, Legolas. Do not let the ghosts of those you could have saved haunt you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I almost had Lorin be romantically tied to Legolas when I initially thought of this story. I later decided to go with Fíli, but yeah.


	17. Chapter 17

Kíli watched as the elleth Tauriel make her way back to her duty. He had yet to hear her sing, but he was certain she was his One. Was this how Fíli felt around Lorin? How he had been able to hold off on his own feelings for so long was ridiculous. But that was how Kíli’s brother was, he supposed. Always cautious. 

He knew he was smitten though. Kíli almost asked her right then and there if she would sing for him, but his uncle probably wouldn’t have appreciated that. He already had a lot on his plate with the whole Lorin is his daughter and Bramble is currently pregnant with said daughter. Even Kíli was still trying to wrap his mind around it. 

She was technically his little cousin and her future-brother-in-law. It was his job to cheer her up. She had looked awful when they had been captured. Her face was ashen and she had never looked so small before. This was the same girl who had faced Azog himself. 

He felt like she was hiding something. Nothing major, but he felt like she was hiding something personal. She looked sad and lonely even. He’d noticed how she had pressed herself to Fíli as though he were her tether to this world. Kíli wondered if he should ask her about it later. If not for his own peace of mind, but for Fíli’s sake. 

***

“Lorin,” he pulled his One closer to him so that she was practically in his lap. “Tell me what’s wrong.” She was so cold. So very cold. Fíli pressed his nose into her neck and nuzzled against her pulse point. “Please, âzyungel.”

She shifted so that he could almost cradle her in his arms. Lorin pressed her face against his neck, and he could feel her breathe in and the her hot breath as she breathed out. “You can’t tell anyone, especially Bramble.”

“I promise.” He didn’t like making that promise, but if it got Lorin to talk to him, it was one he had to make. 

“It’s… it’s because of how I got here.”

“And how was that?”

“I died.”

Fíli stiffened. His arms tightened around her as his heart stuttered in his chest. “How?” He was amazed he could even breathe. 

“Do dwarrow know anything about fading?”

“It happens to elves.” Dwarrow didn’t really have that. If they did, with all the tragedy they had faced, Fíli was certain most of their race would have been gone by now. 

“It happens to hobbits too.”

“After my mother and cousin left. I…” Her hand slipped under his coat and rested over his heart as though she just needed to feel it beating. “I didn’t handle it well. I was trying to get to Erebor. I had hoped to find Glóin and ask if I could be buried near my adad, or at least be placed with the Durins. I couldn’t be with them in life, I thought maybe I could… I didn’t make it to the mountains. I made as far as Beorn’s house. I faded in his arms and then I woke up and I was in Bag End.”

Fíli closed his eyes. “Are you fading now?”

She shook her head. “No, but I can still feel echoes of it. I’ve been having nightmares and sometimes I feel loneliness squeezing my heart until I can’t breathe. I feel better when I’m with people. I like being near Bramble because she… even if she isn’t the same hobbit I knew, she’s still my mum in some ways. Being around Thorin is wonderful because he’s like all the stories my mum told me come true. Being around you… I don’t feel so alone anymore.”

Fíli moved her so that she was straddling his thigh. The position made her just a bit taller than him, but he didn’t care. He wrapped his arms securely around her. “Thank you for telling me, Lorin.” He wanted so desperately to kiss her, but she had asked to wait until the quest was over. “I don’t want you to ever feel alone again.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I want you to be by my side. Always.”

She smiled gently. “I still have to face the dragon,” she whispered. “I have to do that alone.”

Fíli kissed her nose. “You hold my heart, Lorin. You will never truly be alone ever again.”

She grinned, a full on grin and Fíli’s heart swelled. Lorin threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “When this is all over, I want you to kiss me,” she breathed. 

“I might want to do a bit more than that,” he chuckled. 

Lorin’s grip tightened and he pulled her as close as he possibly could. 

***

Lorin was relieved that Bramble got them out of the cells. Being with Fíli helped her tremendously, but she needed to get out of the forest. She also needed to be supervised because she really wanted to do more with Fíli and she knew that now was not a good time for that. 

“Bramble, I need you to get in the barrel with Thorin,” she said when the others were climbing in. 

“What?” The hobbit looked at her. “Then who—”

“I will. I would just feel better if you weren’t out in the water. You can barely swim.” Lorin glanced away. “You made sure I knew how to after an… incident when I was a kid.” She thought of Primula and Drogo. “I’ll tell you about it later. Just go.”

Bramble hesitated for a moment. 

“And give me the Ring as well. I’d feel better if you didn’t have it with you anymore. It’s been… you’ve worn it for too long.”

She hesitated again, but, slowly, Bramble pulled the ring from her pocket and placed it in Lorin’s outstretched hand. 

An eye of fire flashed in Lorin’s mind. Her hand curled into a fist. She quickly slipped the ring onto the necklace that had originally held her beads and secured the Ring under her clothes. 

“Now go.”

She waited for the dwarrow and Bramble to be secured. 

Bofur looked at her. “Now what?”

“Hold your breath.” 

She watched as the barrels rolled over and ran to slide after them. There were orcs coming. Hopefully her following in right after would keep them safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Âzyungel: love of loves


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow... this is a long chapter!  
> A scene between Lorin and Fíli will make you guys happy, I think!

Balin watched Lorin carefully as they all huddled together in Bard’s boat. She had looked over Kíli’s wounds and actually started swearing. Bramble had reprimanded her so the advisor knew that some of those swears had been in Hobbitish. The others were probably in Sindarin. 

“It’s a cursed blade,” she had said. “Why do the orcs have these now? He hasn’t risen to any power yet!”

The ‘he’ she was referring to must have been Sauron. Balin shuddered. He could not imagine the war that might be if Lorin did not complete her quest. 

“Do you know how to heal it?” Thorin had asked. 

She shook her head. “Lord Elrond’s daughter Arwen healed my cousin Frodo when he had been injured similarly. I don’t know elvish healing…”

They had all been quiet after that. 

Lorin had told them to trust Bard. Quietly she told them who he was and that he had slain Smaug in her time. 

Now they were all huddled together. 

Lorin was pressed against Fíli’s side and he had one arm tossed around her shoulder, his nose buried in her hair. He was whispering softly to her and Balin couldn’t hear him but it seemed to comfort her. The prince’s other arm was supporting his brother, who was leaning on his other side. Lorin’s arm reached across Fíli and held Kíli’s arm securely, offering him some sense of comfort as well. 

They looked almost like Dís and Víli and Thorin when they had been young. Young like they had been when Smaug had taken their home from them. Young like they deserved to be. Too young to be facing the dragon before them and an orc pack behind. 

Let them sleep, Balin found himself begging Mahal. Let them sleep and be children for a moment longer. 

***

“I never want to see plumbing ever again,” Bramble shuddered as they all cleaned themself off in Bard’s house. 

“Wait till morning sickness hits,” Lorin told her. “You’ll get intimately reacquainted.”

“Yavanna have mercy, I forgot about that.” The hobbit laughed and shook her head. She glanced at her daughter curiously. They hadn’t spoken much since they had escaped in the barrels. “Lorin?”

“Hm?”

“About you and Fíli…”

Lorin’s face turned bright red. Bramble had to stop herself from laughing. She looked like Thorin. “Wh… what about us?”

“Do you love him?”

Lorin looked away for a moment. “He makes me feel whole, like I had been half of a person this entire time.”

“Do Thorin and I need to give you the talk?” Bramble was only half joking. 

Lorin turned even redder. “My mum gave it to me when I became of age. Most embarrassing thing to have ever been said to me. I couldn’t sleep for days I was so embarrassed.”

Bramble smiled. “Maybe you’ll have to tell me how to make it less embarrassing when I have to tell this little one,” she patted her belly. 

Lorin grimaced. “Perhaps. But I feel like that would be even more embarrassing.”

Bramble laughed. “Even so.” She put her hand on Lorin’s shoulder. “Are you really okay?”

“I can feel the Ring calling to me,” Lorin said with a shudder. “I can hear a voice in my head telling me everything that could go wrong. Frodo told me about what it did to him. I didn’t understand it then, but I do now.”

“Do you—”

Lorin shook her head quickly. “You carried it enough as it is. You wore it too many times when you were pregnant with me. I don’t like it, knowing what it is now. The sooner I face Smaug the better.”

“If you ever need to talk, just tell me, okay?”

Lorin nodded and kissed Bramble gently on the temple. 

***

Lorin watched as the small party the Master threw for the company in disinterest. Kíli was still in bed, trying to rest. She didn’t like how some of the men in the town leered at her. She was starting to understand why dams disguised themselves when traveling. Bramble was safe from their leers because they all made it abundantly clear that she was Thorin’s ‘wife.’ 

Lorin, however, seemed to hold their interest a little more.

She could feel the Ring pulling at her, telling her that only it could keep the others safe. Inwardly, Lorin scoffed. It hadn’t kept them safe last time. Flashes of a fiery eye and Fíli and Kíli and Thorin’s mangled bodies came to her mind. 

Lorin needed air. 

She burst out into a landing of sorts. The cool air whipped around her and she felt so cold. 

Pathetic. The voice that sounded so much like her own echoed in her head. Her mother had handled the Ring for over seventy years and yet she could already feel it clawing at her after only a few days. 

She was weak. Pathetic. 

This is why they left her. 

“Shut up,” Lorin gritted out. 

“Lorin?” She turned and saw Fíli had come out to check on her. He closed the door behind him and stood next to her. “Are you okay?”

“I feel so cold,” she wrapped her arms around herself. “And scared. What if I fail? What if I lose…” she looked up at him. “What if I can’t save you?”

Fíli wrapped his arms around her, opening his coat to let her into his warmth. “I’m not dying, Lorin.” His hot breath fanned across her cheek and neck as he nuzzled against her. “I’m not dying because we have a life that we need to live. I’m not dying because I refuse to let you be alone ever again.”

Tears began to slide down Lorin’s cheeks. “I need you,” she whispered.

She saw his broken body in her mind. She saw him staring up into the sky, his pale blue eyes clouded over, unseeing. She saw the blood seeping out beneath him. The Ring laughed. 

Lorin turned and wrapped her arms around him, beneath his jacket. “I need you…” she looked up at him and she could see the love and devotion and the concern in his eyes. “I need to feel you…” She brushes her nose against his. “Fíli… I’m so cold.”

He kissed her. 

His lips were soft but his beard caused a friction that made her feel so very warm. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She licked the seam of his lips and he opened his mouth to her and she could feel his warmth seeping into her very bones. 

Fíli’s hands went to her hips and he lifted her slightly. Lorin wrapped her legs around him on instinct. He walked them over until her back was pressed against the wall of the building. They broke apart for breath. Their air mingled and Lorin felt so very warm. 

“We can’t go any further…” Lorin whispered. 

“We can go far enough.” His voice was ragged. Fíli claimed her lips again, his tongue thrusting into her mouth and she moaned against him. He pulled away. “We can go far enough,” he growled. 

He devoured her again and Lorin felt a groan rumble through his body as his hips began to rock against hers. He wanted her. He wanted her. Lorin sighed into his mouth and began to roll her hips as well. 

Fíli pulled his lips away from hers again and, this time, Lorin whined. Then, his lips began to trace up her jaw and then down her neck.

“Fíli…” She gasped as he began to suck on her pulse point. “Fíli!” She moaned as warmth began to spread through her entire body. “H… Harder…”

Fíli groaned and began to rut against her and she felt every inch of him against her. Between nips and kisses and sucks he whispered her name like a prayer. “You feel so good…” he breathed. “Taste so good,” he sucked at her collarbone and Lorin pulled his head up so they could kiss again. 

“I’m yours,” she gasped between kisses as he began to pound against her. Her breath felt as though it were being pushed from her lungs. “Always…! Always…!” Something inside her began to coil tightly like a spring. “Fíli…!”

“Wanted you since I saw you,” he ground out. “I belonged to you… the moment you sang… yours… Yours!”

He grunted against her as warmth began to spread throughout her belly and his movements began more erratic. After a few more thrusts he stilled, gasping for breath. Fíli peppered kisses against her face, letting her breathe. 

“Are you okay?” He asked. “Did I hurt you?”

“I’m fine,” she sighed. Lorin pressed a kiss to his lips. “You didn’t hurt me.”

He smiled. She really loved his smile. “Once this quest is over, we’re not leaving our bed for days then.”

“You’re being silly, Fíli.”

“But you love me anyway.” She saw his expression grow strained, as though he wasn’t sure if she would agree with him. They hadn’t said it to each other yet. Not properly anyway. 

Lorin smiles and cupped his face in her hands. “I love you, you silly dwarf.” She kissed the bridge of his nose. “More than all the flowers in the Shire, I love you.”

His smile grew wider. “I love you too, Ghivâshelûh.”

Lorin nuzzled him as he slowly set her down. “What does that mean?”

“‘My treasure of all treasures,’” he said, pressing his forehead against hers. She had seen the dwarrow do that a lot. 

“Gin melathon an-uir,” she whispered. 

“And what does that mean?”

“‘I will love you for eternity.’”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really surprised no one commented on Lorin and Fíli’s scene last chapter. 
> 
> Also, something was said last chapter that is REALLY important to the ending. 😘

“I belong with my brother,” he had said. He belonged with his One as well. She was about to face a dragon and he was not going with her. 

“He needs you more than I do,” Lorin said, cupping his face in her hands. 

They had almost memorized the other the previous night. After their moment on the landing, they had gone to her room and explored one another. They didn’t cross a certain line, but with all they had done they might as well have. 

“If I went with you, I wouldn’t let you go,” Fíli murmured, pressing his forehead to hers.

“I would sneak away at night if you did that,” she teased. 

“Then I would hold you through the night,” he smirked. “Maybe I would even attempt to exhaust you.”

Lorin shook her head, nuzzling against him. “Silly dwarf.”

“Is that going to be my nickname now?”

Lorin answered by pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. “Be with Kíli. I’ll see you in a few days. Remind Bard of the chink in the dragon’s chest. Just in case.”

Fíli kissed her again. “I’ll never forgive myself if you get hurt.”

Lorin smiled and pulled away. “It’s a good thing hobbits are more forgiving then.”

He and Kíli and Óin watched as the rest of the Company, minus Bofur, sailed to the mountain. Lorin sat next to Bramble, they had decided it wouldn’t be safe for her to remain in the town of men.

The dwobbit looked at him and Fíli knew his heart went with her. They would be together soon, just as Yavanna and Mahal wished for them to be. 

For now, he needed to focus on his brother. 

***

The Company made it up to the mountain side where the door was supposed to be. Thorin was ecstatic to find the clearing and the possible placement of the door. Bramble was happy for him, proud of him. 

“By the way,” Lorin said as the Company began to look for the door. “‘The last light of Durin’s Day’ refers to moonlight. The back gate to Moria was the same, not that I’d been there. Gimli told me about it.”

The Company looked at her for a long moment and then saw some reason in her words. 

“Wait a mo’,” Nori said. “You knew what the map said from the beginning! Why did we have to go to Rivendell at all?”

Bramble hadn’t thought of that. 

“I never knew how much creative liberties my mum took when telling me the story,” Lorin sighed. “Besides, I wanted to sleep in a bed one more time. And I needed to speak with Lord Elrond on some matters pertaining to my personal quest.”

“You say my lad, Gimli, told you about the gate of Moria,” Glóin said. “Does that mean that mountain is reclaimed too.”

Lorin’s face grew pale. “It was attempted. And it was settled for a while.”

“But?” Dwalin asked. 

“There’s a Balrog and orcs take it over.”

Bramble felt that something was off. “Lorin… Who… Who died?”

The Company grew still. All eyes on the young dwobbit. 

“Ori, Óin, and Balin. They were skeletons when the Fellowship found them.” She looked away. “That’s my other advice to you, I guess. Don’t try to retake Moria. It’s not worth it. 

***

Lorin set out into the mountain alone. She might have to use the Ring eventually, although she hated that. Her plan was simple. If she got Smaug to swallow the Ring it would destroy it and the beast in one go. Gandalf and Elrond both seemed to believe it would work. Lorin hopes they were right. 

She walked quietly through a large doorway and found herself in a massive hall. Lorin wondered what these halls looked like in her time. Had the splendor of the mountain Thorin described to her been restored under Dain? Probably. The dwobbit wished she had had the chance to see it. She would be able to see its rebuilding soon enough. 

All that needed to happen was to take care of Smaug and the Ring and everything would be okay. Lorin wondered what they would do with a dragon carcass anyway. Her mum had never said what had happened to Smaug’s body afterwards. 

Lorin blushed. She remembered Fíli grunting that he would make her marriage beads of our dragon bone for her the previous night. She wanted this quest finished for no other reason but to continue with that. 

Lorin paused. Her mum said she and her ada had only coupled once. Why hadn’t they coupled again after the quest was finished. 

Dread began to seep into Lorin’s belly. What had happened between the defeat of the dragon and her family’s death?

Lorin suddenly stopped at the top of a staircase and her jaw dropped. Mountains of gold, jewels, weapons, cups, and all sorts of treasure piled dozens of feet high covered the floor of the massive hall. It was like a sea (although Lorin had admittedly never actually seen the sea). 

Lorin climbed down the stairs and carefully began to walk atop the treasure. She tried to be quiet, but the coins and jewels beneath her made a lot of noise. Her mum had been looking for the Arkenstone when Smaug had found her, Lorin supposed that would be the best way to do this. 

“Arkenstone, Arkenstone...a large, white jewel. Very helpful,” Lorin grumbled. Couldn’t the dwarrow have made it a little more obvious. She was surrounded by so much treasure that it would be impossible for her to find one particular jewel out of all of it. 

Lorin climbed up a mountain of gold. She found a golden cup and picked it up, this, however, caused a small avalanche of coins. The dwobbit looked up and her bones turned into fire. The coins had fallen away to reveal Smaug’s shut eye. Lorin sprinted behind a stone pillar in fright. 

The hall remained silent. Right, her mum had said Smaug was asleep when she arrived.Lorin wondered if she should wake the dragon up and pretend to offer him tribute or something. 

The dragon snorted and the treasure around his nose fell away. Lorin was about to move when the gold surrounding her began to ripple as he awakened. 

Fear took over as Smaug began to raise his head, eyes still closed. As the dragon opened his eyes, Lorin ran and dove behind a pile of gold. 

Lorin reaches into her pocket and pulled out the Ring. She looked at it for a second before jamming it onto her finger. 

The Ring sneered as flashes of a fiery eye filled her vision for a few seconds. 

“Well, thief, I smell you. I hear your breath. I feel your air. Where are you?”


	20. Chapter 20

_“Tell the dragon!” Lorin said, bouncing on her bed. “Tell the dragon!”_

_Her mum chuckled as she gently nudged her down onto her small bed to tuck her in. “You always want me to tell you about that blasted dragon,” the hobbit smiled. “Surely you want to hear something else. How about the trolls?”_

_“Dragon!” Lorin ordered, wiggling in her tucked in sheets. “I want to hear the riddles!”_

_“Sweetheart, you know those riddles like the back of your hand.”_

_“Dragon!” It was the one part in the story her adad did not feature. Lorin didn’t mind it. She liked hearing about her mother outsmart a dragon, even if it was only for a little while. Sometimes Lorin could hardly believe her mother had ever faced a dragon. Had ever been that brave. Her mother was always so sad. “Dragon!”_

_“Alright. Alright,” her mum chuckled. The hobbit curled around her daughter and Lorin snuggled up against her mother’s chest. She cleared her throat and deepened her voice. “_ **_Well, thief, I smell you. I hear your breath. I feel your air. Where are you_ ** _?”_

***

“Come now,” the dragon hissed. “Don’t be shy. Step into the light.” Lorin’s mother had not done the dragon’s voice justice. “Mmm, there is something about you, something you carry. Something made of gold, but far more… _precioussss_.”

The final word echoed in Lorin’s head. Her mother’s voice and Frodo’s echoed along with it. The dwobbit clutched her head as searing pain shot up her spine and to her brain. The eye of Sauron burst into her mind and Lorin yanked the Ring from her finger without any hesitation.

“There you are,” Smaug appeared to grin, he head near her, “thief in the shadows.”

“I did not come to steal from you, O Smaug the Unassessably Wealthy.” Lorin knew this part of the story by heart. All she had to do was skip the barrel part that would make him seek vengeance on Lake Town. “I merely wanted to gaze upon your magnificence, to see if you really were as great as the old tales say. I did not believe them.”

Hearing this disbelief of his magnificence, Smaug stomped several yards away from Lorin and drew himself up so his entire body was visible to her. He was massive. Two back legs, two massive, bat-like wings with claws, and his neck and tail were both incredibly long. His head was bigger than anything Lorin had ever seen.

“And, do you you now?!”

“Truly, the tales and songs fall utterly short of your enormity, O Smaug the Stupendous.” Lady Yavanna how was he considered to be one of the smallest dragons?!

“Do you think flattery will keep you alive?”

“N—no, no.”

“No, indeed. You seem familiar with my name, but I don’t remember smelling your kind before. Who are you, and where do you come from, may I ask?”

***

“I- I come from under the hill,” the little person shook. It was female, he supposed. He couldn’t place her scent. She smelled vaguely of earth, like a dwarf, but she was not a dwarf. She was almost mated too, from what he could tell.

He really should know what he was eating, shouldn’t he?

“Underhill?”

The girl nodded. She glanced away from him for a moment. Brave thing. He would give her that.

“And under hills and over hills my path has led. And, and, through the air. I am the daughter of the invisible one.”

“Impressive.” She was amusing, if anything. “What else do you claim to be?”

He snaked his head forward until his teeth were inches from the girl’s face. He breathed in and then exhaled. She was almost mated to a dwarf. How interesting. She was young, doubtful she had been here when Smaug first claimed his mountain prize.

“I am… the reborn,” she fumbled. “Knower of things get to be.”

“Lovely titles; go on.”

She paused.

Interesting.

“I am she who knows many, but is known by few!” She decided at last.

“Now that is interesting,” Smaug chuckled. “And what about your little dwarf friends? Where are they hiding?”

He could smell her fear instantly. It was delicious.

“Dw—Dwarves?” She spluttered. “No, no, no dwarves here. You’ve got that all wrong.”

“Oh, I don’t think so, knower of many. They sent you in here to do their dirty work while they skulk about outside.”

“Truly, you are mistaken, O Smaug, Chiefest and Greatest of calamities.”

His lips curled. “You have nice manners...for a thief and a liar! I know the smell and taste of dwarf. No one better. It is the gold! They are drawn to treasure like flies to dead flesh.”

Smaug began to stomp about,his claws knocking over piles of his treasure. He heard the girl gasp and start to run.

“Did you think I did not know this day would come, when a pack of canting dwarves would come crawling back to the mountain?!”

The girl tripped and slid down the piles of gold and Smaug pursued her., knocking over a massive stone pillar in his rage. It’s distraction reverberated throughout the mountain and Smaug was certain the girl’s dwarven friends would now worry for her.

“The King under the mountain is dead. I took his throne.”

Smaug looked for the girl and watched as she burst forth from a pile of gold beneath his claw. The girl ran down a staircase and leapt of the side as Smaug swung his head to face her.

“I ate his people like a wolf among sheep.” Smaug continued his pursuit. He hadn’t had this much fun since he claimed his mountain. “I kill where I wish, when I wish. My armor is iron.” Smaug opened his wings as the girl slid under a covered stone structure. And glided down to land atop it. “No blade can pierce me!” He would play her game. Pretend he did not know where she was. Pretend he did not know what she carried. “It’s Oakenshield. That filthy dwarvish usurper! He sent you in here for the Arkenstone, didn’t he?”

“No, no, no. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Smaug peered under the structure and found she had hidden herself from his sight. “Don’t bother denying it. I guessed his foul purpose some time ago. But it matters not. Oakenshield’s quest will fail. The darkness is coming, it will spread to every corner of the land.” He sneered as he smelled her dread. She knew it too then. Interesting. She was weak. Smaug could sense a darkness within herself. It was eating her slowly away although it had all but stopped. Love foolishly did things like that. “You have been used, thief in the shadows. You were only ever a means to an end. The coward Oakenshield has weighed the value of your life and found it worth nothing.”

“No. No. No, you’re lying!” She sounded like a petulant child.

“What did he promise you? A share of the treasure? As if it was his to give. I will not part with a single coin. Not one piece of it.”

Smaug watched as she darted from underneath the structure to where the Arkenstone lag. He whipped his tail, sending the girl, the Arkenstone, and gold flying. The girl tumbled and landed against a pillar.

“My teeth are swords! My claws are spears! My wings are a hurricane!” Smaug spread his wings and the girl whispered to herself. “What did you say?” He snarled.

“Uh, uh, I was just saying your reputation precedes you, oh Smaug the tyrannical. Truly, you have no equal on this earth.” She was looking to the Arkenstone.

“I am almost tempted to let you take it, if only to see Oakenshield suffer, watch it destroy him, watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad.” Smaug reared his head back. “But I think not. I think our little game ends here. So tell me, thief, how do you choose to die?”

The girl shuddered. “What if I offered you a trade.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this story, dragon fire can destroy the One Ring.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapter update today! 21+22!

The Company could see an orange glow coming from the mountain through the door. 

“What about Lorin?” Ori asked quietly. Balin’s apprentice had grown fond of the dwobbit. She’d been kind to him and since she had revealed who she was, she had told him of the prestige he had earned in his lifetime, regardless of how short she later revealed it was. It had been a bolster to the young scribe’s confidence. 

“Give her more time,” Thorin said quietly. 

Balin turned to his king. Bramble was not next to him. She was sitting next between Dori and Glóin who were making sure she was calm. A pregnant hobbit needed assurance, it seemed. Balin couldn’t imagine the fact that she had faced a dragon alone in Lorin’s timeline. 

“Time to do what?” The very thought of that girl being in any danger put Balin on edge. He had seen too many Durins die. If Lorin’s timeline were anything to go by, there was a chance he might see three more do so. “To he killed?”

Thorin looked to him. “You’re afraid.”

Balin paused for a moment before stepping up to Thorin. “Yes, I’m afraid. I fear for YOU. A sickness lies upon that treasure hoard, a sickness that drove your grandfather mad.”

“I am not my grandfather.”

“You’re not yourself. The Thorin I know would not hesitate to go in there—”

“I will not risk this quest for the life of one person.”

Balin looked at Thorin in disgust. “Lorin. Her name is Lorin. And if you would not risk this quest for your daughter, then what has been the point of it all?”

Thorin said nothing and turned to look out into the night.

***

“A trade?” Smaug could almost laugh. What in Arda could this girl possibly trade that was worth her life? She seemed intelligent. Oh, she smelled of Laketown, but had thoughtfully kept her words from letting that detail be confirmed. “What could you possibly trade?”

“You know what I carry. You know what it is.”

Smaug looked at the girl in surprise. Interesting. He had sensed the darkness within her. Some of it was from the Ring, but much of it was within her. The dragon vaguely wondered how long she had had it. It was obvious to anyone with the knowledge of what to look for to see that the Ring has consumed part of her soul. It had not touched her mind, which led Smaug to believe she had been in possession of it for a long time. Possibly since she was a child. The innocence of childhood seemed to be the Valar’s way of protecting their creations. 

“And you would trade it to me for your life?” He laid his head down before her and he breathed his hot air upon her and she flinched.

“I would trade it for the life of my companions and all of Arda.”

She did not include herself. Smaug took note of that. “Such an odd thing, willing to give up such power for something so insignificant.”

“The life of people I care for aren’t insignificant. Don’t you have someone you care for?”

He had once. But that had been long ago. She was long dead. Murdered by men who feared her based on something she had no control over. Life was not kind to dragons whose hearts were gentle. 

“Dragons are solitary creatures by nature.”

“Not by choice then?”

She did have such pretty words. “So, you offer me a trade.”

“You said a darkness was coming.”

“It is. I already sense it growing in the East.” He didn’t smell her fear anymore and Smaug wondered if she were resigned to her fate. “I can take whatever I want, why offer me a trade?”

“My mum believed in mercy.”

Smaug scoffed. “Mercy? You would give mercy to one you believe took your precious dwarves’ home?”

“This was never my home. All I care about are the people.”

***

Lorin hadn’t dreamed trying to talk around a dragon would be this difficult. She wasn’t one for riddle-speak. She much preferred being straightforward. Her mum said it was the dwarf in her, whatever that meant. She heard Bofur make enough innuendos to know dwarrow knew how to make certain double speak. Now came the most dangerous part of her plan.

She needed to make him angry. Maybe. 

Lorin had no idea how a dragon’s body worked so she had no clue if just throwing the Ring into his throat would work. The dwobbit assumes that there was something that separated the dragon’s stomach and whatever part of him created fire. He needed prepare to breathe fire in order for her to destroy the Ring once and for all and, perhaps, in doing so, Smaug would be destroyed too. 

“What does it matter anyway?” She continued. “It’s not like you’re not going to eat me anyway, right?”

“Most likely,” he admitted. 

Lorin nodded. At least dragons were honest. She winced. His words floated in her head. 

‘The coward Oakenshield has weighed the value of your life and found it worth nothing.’

‘Watch it destroy him, watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad.’

The Arkenstone weighed heavily in her pocket. 

Lorin shook her head. No. Thorin promised to show her Erebor. He promised to teach her the dwarrow tongue. He was kind and noble. He was everything her mum said he was. 

“May I request one thing then, if I’m to die either way?”

“You can ask, but I don’t have to agree.”

Lorin nodded slowly, her heart sinking. “I wish to see you breath fire. I’m curious to see how it works. I just don’t understand how you can breath fire but you can eat too. I doubt it all goes and comes from the same place.”

“A curious mind. Very few would ask for knowledge in their final moments.”

“I’m not most people.”

“You have given me the most stimulating conversation I’ve had in the past century. I suppose I could show you.”

Smaug’s chest began to glow as he reared his head back. She saw something in the dragon’s mouth open, a flap of some kind. It must be what separated his stomach from whatever part of him made fire. 

Lorin clenched the Ring in her hand, remembering the times she, Frodo, Pippin, and Merry had a pebble tossing contest. 

She threw the Ring. 

She had always had the best arm in the Shire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you like my slight changes to Smaug?


	22. Chapter 22

When Fíli had seen the smoke coming from the mountain he couldn’t breathe. Lorin. Lorin. 

He was vaguely aware of his brother saying goodbye to the elf that had saved him, but he didn’t care beyond the fact that his brother was alive. He needed to get to the mountain. He needed to get to Lorin. He needed to hold her. He needed to know that she was alright. 

The group that had stayed behind in Laketown made it to Erebor and found only the ruins and it’s desertion. Whatever had happened with the dragon had all but destroyed the gate. It were as though a great explosion and shook the mountain to its core. 

Fíli shuddered. 

His father had died in a mining accident. He wouldn’t be able to handle losing Lorin like that too. 

“Hello!” Bofur called. “Bombur? Bifur? Anybody?”

“Lorin?” Fíli called, his heart pounding in his chest.

They ran inside to look for the others when Lorin came running up the stairs to them. “Wait!” She called. “Wait!”

“Lorin!” Bofur gasped. “She’s alive!”

Fíli practically tackled her to the ground. He lifted her up in his arms and kissed her. 

“Stop!” Lorin pulled away. “Stop! Stop!” Even as she pulled away, she clung to him. “You need to leave. We all need to leave.”

Fíli could hear the panic in her voice and he held her tighter. 

“We only just got here,” Bofur said, aghast. 

“I tried talking to him. So did Bramble. But he won’t listen.” She was looking to Fíli now as though he were the only thing that made sense. 

“Wh… what do you mean, lass?” Óin asked. 

Fíli noticed a bruise blooming on her jaw as well as a slight rawness that came from being too close to flames. “Your hurt.”

“It doesn’t matter!” She said teetering between frustration and despair. “Thorin! Thorin, he’s been down there for days. He doesn’t sleep unless Bramble says she feels lonely, he barely eats. He’s not been himself, not at all. It’s this.. this place.” Her hands tightened on Fíli’s shirt. “I think a sickness lies upon it.” She pressed her face into his chest and whispered so only he could hear. “It feels so cold here.”

“Sickness?” Kíli looked to Fíli with worry. Their amad had warned them about this. Warned them to make sure Thorin didn’t succumb to it.

Fíli noticed a golden glow. He soothed Lorin into letting him go as he went to take a closer look. 

“What kind of sickness?” Kíli asked, following him. 

“Fíli?” Lorin called out after him. “Fíli!”

The others followed after him and they made it as far down as a landing that gave a good look to a sea of gold. Fíli could see Thorin, wearing rich robes and a crown, walking about it. Lorin came to his side and wrapped her arms around his bicep, squeezing it tightly. 

His voice echoed across the chamber. “Gold,” his voice was soft as though the words were honey on his lips. “Gold beyond measure, beyond sorrow and grief.” He seemed to notice them all watching him. “Behold, the great treasure hoard of Thrór.” He threw a golden cup to Fíli and he caught it. “Welcome, my sister’s sons, my daughter, to the Kingdom of Erebor.”

His uncle’s voice continued to echo off the walls, but all Fíli could hear was Lorin’s soft whimper.

***

Lorin gasped and Fíli grunted. They’d spent the first few minutes of sleep re-memorizing each other. She kissed every bruise he had gained from his fight with the orcs and he kissed the places her skin blistered and bruised from her escape from the exploding Smaug. 

Sauron would not be able to rise to power in this life. But even so, she felt empty. A part of her was missing. 

Lorin slumped over Fíli’s bare chest as he wrapped his arms around her. Her legs straddled his clothed hips and she still wore her shift and sleep pants. Fíli laid them back down and Lorin caught her breath as she buried her face in his neck. She still didn’t want to cross that line until the battle had ended and they had all come out safely. 

“Are you okay?” He asked.

She nodded. “With you? Always, you silly dwarf.”

She felt him shake his head and could feel him roll his eyes affectionately. “It’s called dragon sickness,” he said quietly, changing the subject. “It runs in the Line of Durin. My amad warned me and Kíli about it.”

“I wonder if my adad suffered from in in my time.” Fíli didn’t answer her. “Balin told me about it.” Lorin pushed herself up, sliding off him so that she was to his side instead of on top of him. “Do you…?”

“I feel it. I feel the gold calling to me, but I don’t answer it.”

“Why?”

“Because I have you. I’m trying to focus it all on you.”

“That can’t be healthy.”

“Probably not.”

“What does it make you want to do?”

“I want to lock you away so that only I can see you. So only I can touch you. I want to claim you now as you scream my name to let everyone know who you belong to.” Lorin shivered. “I won’t do any of that though. The sickness is weaker in me and even weaker in Kíli. We haven’t obsessed over this mountain like Thorin has.”

Lorin curled into him. “If this happened in my time, I can understand why no one wanted me to go on that quest. They feared I would go mad too.”

“Then they didn’t know you at all. You’re the most selfless person I know.”

Lorin smiled at him. She rested her head against his shoulder and ran her hand against the hardness of his stomach. “We need to band together. There’s still a battle to come. I doubt Azog will let any of this go just because he has no more master.”

“Then let’s sleep. We’ll continue this tomorrow.”

Fíli fell asleep soon after, exhausted from everything. Lorin watched him for a long time before pulling herself away from his warmth. Fíli stirred slightly before stilling again. 

The dwobbit made her way out of the mountain, dressed and carrying the Arkenstone. The only way Thorin was going to listen was if a deal was struck. Her mother must not have thought of that. She had probably been unsure of what to do. Lorin’s mum had always been hesitant in her decisions. Or perhaps her father hadn’t fallen to dragon sickness in her own time. Maybe it was the residual powers of the Ring fighting back or whatever magic that Smaug contained lingering in the treasure he had died upon. 

Either way, Lorin made her choice and hoped it was the right one. 

***

“Since When has my council counted for so little?” Olórin asked. “What do you think I’m trying to do?”

“I think you’re trying to save your dwarvish friends,” Thranduil said calmly, as though he were merely stating the weather. “And I admire your loyalty to them, but it does not dissuade me from my cause. You started this, Mithrandir, you will forgive me if I finish it.” The elf king turned to one of his subjects. “Are the archers in position?”

“Yes, my lord.” 

“Give the order. If anything moves on that mountain, kill it. The dwarves are out of time.”

The elf bowed and went to give the odder. 

“You, bowman!” Olórin turned to the leader of Dale. “Do you agree with this? Is gold so important to you! Would you buy it with the blood of dwarves?”

“It will not come to that,” the mans said. “This is a fight they cannot win.”

“That won’t stop them,” Lorin said, suddenly appearing at his arm. “You think the dwarrow will surrender? They won’t. They will fight to the death to defend their own.”

“Lady Lorin!” Olórin smiled. So she had made it. The shift in the darkness had been palpable to all of those on the White Council. She had succeeded on cutting the head of the snake while she could. 

The elf king looked at her. “If I’m not mistaken, this is one of the prisoners. I thought it was a halfling who had stolen the keys to my dungeons from under the nose of my guards, but I suppose you masterminded it all?”

Lorin bit her lip. “Yes. Sorry about that. You kind of deserved it though. It’s your duty to help travelers get through your bloody forest. How’s the lack of spiders, but the way? Your welcome.” Olórin snorted. “But that’s not why I’m here.” She fished into her oversized pockets. “I came to give you this.” She pulled out the Arkenstone and Olórin’s heart froze for a moment. 

“The Heart of the Mountain,” Thranduil whispered. “The King’s jewel.”

“And worth a king’s ransom,” Bard muttered. He turned to look at Lorin. “How is this yours to give?”

“It’s my fifteenth share of the treasure,” she said. “Besides, I’m the daughter of the king and the One of the crown prince. I have a right to a say in all this.”

“Why would you do this?” Bard asked. “You owe hs no loyalty.”

“I’m not doing this for you, dragonslayer,” she said. Bard looked at he in confusion “I know the dwarrow can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult. And suspicious and secretive with horrible manners, but they are also brave and kind and loyal to a fault. They’re my family and I would save them if I can. Thorin values this stone above all else besides maybe Bramble and the baby. In exchange for its return, I believe he’ll give you the gold owed. There’s no need for war. Let it not be said the dwarrow turned their back as the elves turned theirs.” Lorin set the jewel down on a table. “Just so you know, Thorin’s called upon the Iron Hills for aid. I would tread lightly regardless.” She turned and left. 

Olórin followed her out. “Rest tonight. You must leave on the morrow.”

Lorin looked up at him. “What?”

“I do not think Thorin will take kindly to what you have done.”

“He’ll see sense. He’s a good person.”

“Good people can do bad things, my lady.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Oh?

“I still need to protect them. The head of the snake has been cut off, but Azog won’t stop until he’s dead. I won’t abandon my family when they are so close to living.”

Olórin frowned. “You can’t save everyone, Lorin.”

“No. But I can save them.” She turned away from him and walked towards the mountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, Lorin’s mother stopped telling the story after Smaug was defeated.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild chapter appeared!

Fíli groaned as he stretched out from his sleep. He sighed in content when he felt Lorin’s warmth curled against his side. He had dreamed of her leaving during the night, but he knew that not to be true with how much she clung to him. 

She murmured in her sleep and nuzzled her face into his bare chest. Fíli smirked and pulled her on top of him so that she was straddling his thigh. He pressed kisses to her face, touching his lips to everywhere but her own. She growled softly, probably at both being woken up but for him not claiming her lips. 

“Morning,” he murmured as her blue eyes opened to his. 

“Morning.” She pulled herself up and kissed him, licking her way into his mouth. 

Fíli groaned as he turned them over so she was on her back. He explored her mouth as though he hadn’t already memorized it. She moaned softly as her hands sank into his hair. 

Mine. 

The thought echoed in his head. 

He wanted to dress her in the finest jewels he could find. His lips began to trail down her jaw and to her neck. 

“Fíli…”

He wanted to find the largest bed with the softest furs and hear her scream his name into the mattress. He clasped her hands with his. 

“Fíli.”

His. She was his.

Mine. 

“Fíli!”

He pulled away and looked down at her. Dread coiled in his belly when he saw her. 

He had pinned her down by the wrists with one hand as his other had begun to snake up her shift, where it was now frozen at her ribs. Her eyes were wide and she was trembling. 

Fíli let her go instantly and sat up and away from her. Lorin sat up more slowly. They stared at each other for a few moments. 

“I’m sorry—I—”

“Shhh…” Lorin crawled over to him and held his face in her hands. “I know. It’s the sickness.” She kissed the bridge of his nose. “I could have easily thrown you off, you silly dwarf. I just wanted to try and break you free with my words first.”

“I’m still sorry.” Fíli tentatively wrapped his arms around her. “I… you’re still hurt too.”

“If I’m what keeps you from the madness of gold, then so be it.” She pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

“I dreamed of you leaving,” he whispered as she pulled away. “Last night, I dreamed you had gone and I couldn’t find you.”

Lorin looked at him and smiled. “Silly dwarf. Im mel cin till mui vedui chwest. Im mel cin in everui cuil.”

He did not know what she said, so he pressed his lips to hers and promised he would never hurt her like that again. He promised that he would never let her go. 

How quickly he broke that promise. 

***

Lorin flinched as Thorin let loose an arrow that landed in front of Thranduil.

“I will put the next one between your eyes,” Thorin shouted. 

The dwarves cheered for their king but quickly hid behind the stone wall when the elf king indicated for his bowmen to aim at them. Fíli pressed Lorin to his side. “I promise, I’ll protect you,” he whispered gently into her hair. 

“We’ve come to tell you payment of your debt has been offered and accepted,” Thranduil called. 

The Company looked at each other in confusion and looked over the battlement to see what the elf spoke of. Nerves knotted Lorin’s stomach.

“What payment?” Thorin spat. “I gave you nothing. You have nothing.”

“We have this.”

Lorin watched as Bard took out the Arkenstone and held it up for all to see. Even from this distance, Lorin could see the stones brilliance. She didn’t really understand Thorin’s love for it. It was just a stone. A pretty one, but just a stone. 

“They have the Arkenstone,” Fíli said in horror. “Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house? That stone belongs to the king.”

Lorin winced. 

“The King may have it, with our good will,” the heir to Dale said as he put the Arkenstone back in his pocket. “But first he must honor his word.”

Thorin laughed. It was not a deep happy laugh that Lorin had heard a few times on the quest. No, this laugh was deep and dark and sent a shiver down Lorin’s spine. “They’re taking us for fools. This is a ruse, and a filthy lie. The Arkenstone is in this Mountain, it is a trick!” He shouted that last bit out to the armies below. 

“I–it’s no trick,” Lorin said shakily, pulling herself from Fíli’s grasp. “The stone is real.” Bramble looked at her in horror. “I gave it to them.”

Thorin slowly turned to her, his eyes were dark without a trace of blue. “You?”

Lorin took a deep breath. “I took it as my fifteenth share.”

Thorin’s jaw worked as the pain began to weave into his expression. “You would steal from me?”

“Steal from you?” The word felt like ash in her mouth. “No, no. I may have been raised on tales of burglary, but I’d like to think I would be an honest one.” His cold eyes sent a shiver down her spine. “I’m willing to let it stand against my claim.” As his daughter, as Fíli’s One, as the dwobbit who saved his life, as the girl who looked up to him as a hero since she was a little girl. 

“Against your claim?” The king chuckled and  
Lorin’s heart stuttered in her chest. “Your claim? You have no claim over me, you miserable rat!”

Lorin flinched and no one else moved. “I was going to give it to you. Many times I wanted to, but…”

“But what, thief?” He snarled. 

She’d never… she’d never felt such hatred aimed towards her. She’d earned her share of dirty looks from some hobbits who called her a bastard, but that had been it. Even in moments where her mother had lost herself in the Ring she had never…

“You are changed, Thorin. The Thorin I grew up being told about would never have put his pride before the needs of his family and people. The dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word, would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin.” Her voice rose with every word.

“Do not speak to me of loyalty,” he nearly spat out. He looked to the rest of the Company. “Throw her from the rampart!” Lorin felt her heart stop and a deep cold sink into her bones. No one moved. No one. Thorin snarled. “Did you not hear me?! I will do it myself.” He grabbed Lorin by the neck and she could not even scream as the pressure tightened. “Curse you!” 

Thorin pinned her against the edge of the battlement’s ledge. She vaguely heard her mother’s voice and Fíli’s. Lorin clawed at Thorin’s wrist as he knocked someone aside. Her vision was clouding, black spots began to permeate her vision. 

“Ada—” the name died on her lips as tears began to spring from her eyes. 

“Cursed be the wizard and all the Valar that forced you on this company!”

“If you don’t like my burglar,” Gandalf’s voice boomed from below them, “then don’t hurt her. Return her to me. You’re not making a very splendid figure as King Under the Mountain, are you, Thorin son of Thrain?”

He let her go. 

Lorin gasped for breath and began to cough. Everything hurt. Everything. Everything was cold. Everything. He had planned on killing her. Her own—

“Never again will I have dealings with wizards!” Thorin shouted. “Or halfbreeds who think they know what’s best for those they claim to be their father.”

Did… did he not believe her? Lorin looked up to him and felt his icy glare to her very bones. She looked to the rest of the Company. None of them moved. They just stared at her. Well, most of them stared. Bramble wasn’t even looking at her. Fíli… Fíli looked betrayed. 

She reached for him. The one person who had never… “Fíli—”

“Go,” was all he said. 

No one looked at her now and Lorin’s hand dropped. She looked away as tears began to burn her vision. Who was she kidding? Only herself. 

When had she ever been enough?

She was the girl who never fit in with the other fauntlings. She was the one adults whispered about. She was the one they said “poor Bramble has to look after.” She was the one who was never able to distract her mother from the pain of losing her father. She was the one who hadn’t been able to protect Frodo. She was the one who hadn’t been a good enough reason for him to stay. She was the one no one in the Company came to see. Oh, they wrote her mother often, but never about her. Her mother had assured her it was because they wanted her to be safe. But she would never forget the way Glóin had ignored her. Never forget the way he pretended she hadn’t existed and only greeted her mother. She would never forget how much she begged to go on the quest, be a part of the Fellowship so that she could protect what little family she had left. She would never forget how they told her she had too much of her father in her and never explain what that meant because her father had been a hero. Her mother told her so. 

Since when had she ever been enough for someone?

The answer was simple: she had never been enough. 

Not even for the One the Valar had made for her. 

She had never been enough. 

Lorin turned. She turned away from HIM, the one person she had told her darkest secret to. She turned away from the father she had never really known. She turned away from the mother who had abandoned her twice already. 

She turned and climbed down the mountain, letting the ice sink into her bones. 

“Are we resolved? The return of the Arkenstone for what was promised,” she heard Bard ask. Lorin wanted to laugh. She only cried. “Give us your answer. Will you have peace or war?”

She heard Thorin’s voice, even as for down as she was. “I will have war.”

Smaug’s voice rang in her head. As did the Ring’s. 

‘The coward Oakenshield has weighed the value of your life and found it worth nothing.’

***

Thranduil looked at the girl as she followed them. They were making plans for the battle with the dwarves, including the ones who had just arrived from the Iron Hills. 

The elven king had sensed the ice of fading in one of his prisoners as soon as she entered his realm. He hadn’t thought to check as it was none of his business if someone was choosing to wander in his woods to die. Not unless it was one of his own people and Thranduil knew her not to be. 

Now, she felt empty. Thorin Oakenshield was her father and he had rejected her in the most violent way possible. And the boy she had clung to while in his dungeons had not come with her. Whatever tether had kept her tied to this word had long since snapped as the bruises on her neck began to bloom. 

“You should leave now, Lady Lorin,” Mithrandir said softly. “There is nothing left for you here. Let one of the elves take you back to Thranduil’s kingdom. You deserve rest.”

She shook her head. “I’m going to Raven Hill.”

“Lorin—”

“Azog will be there and so will Bolg. I need… it’s the last thing I need to do.” She looked up to Thranduil. “May I have Orcrist?”

“You do not wish for your own sword?” The king asked. 

“Orcrist was given to me when I first came of age. Legolas actually brought it to me. I think it might have been your way to make amends for what happened. Or maybe it was just Legolas trying to be kind. My mum was a lot like you growing up.”

“And you wish to face these orcs alone?”

“I’ve always been alone.” She looked up at him. Her blue eyes had turned to a dull grey. “The least I can do is make sure the baby has both her parents.”

“Considering how Thorin Oakenshield has treated you already, I doubt—”

“It was my fault really,” she said, turning back to the mountain. “I should have known something was wrong. My mum never talked about what happened after Bard slayed the dragon. She didn’t even tell me my adad had died until I was about twenty or so. I suppose she wanted me to see him as a hero.” She laughed bitterly. “Dead fathers are always heroes.” Lorin looked back up to him. “When I first faded I had hoped to go to the mountain to be buried amongst my kin. I probably won’t be welcomed there anymore. But I’ll die here all the same. I might as well die knowing I protected the baby. I’m… they’re the only good thing to come from this quest. It’s what my mum used to say. I used to believe her.”

Thranduil watched the girl and unbelted the sword from his hip and gave it to her. She pulled it from its sheath and looked at it. She nodded and tied it to her hips. 

“Lady Lorin—”

“You don’t have a right to tell me what to do, Gandalf,” she snapped. “You lied to me just as much as the rest of them. You would disappear for years and, in the end, you left just like everyone else. You’ve done it before, so just let me go. Let me fight the monster that took any chance of me ever knowing my family away from me.”

“I wish you well, Lady Lorin,” Thranduil said softly, putting his hand over his heart and bowing his head slightly. 

The girl nodded. “Talk to your son,” she told him. “Before it’s too late.” With that, she turned and headed to Raven Hill as the horns of orcs blew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good luck figuring out what Lorin told Fíli in Sindarin. I’m not telling you 😘


	24. Chapter 24

Thorin sat on his throne. He had ordered his nephews to keep watch over Bramble. She had become despondent when he’d thrown out the girl claiming to be their daughter. His own heart had been torn in two at the girl’s betrayal, but he pushed through. 

He was the king. 

He had better things to do than worry about a traitor. 

He had to think about his gold. 

“Since when do we forsake our own people?” Dwalin came to him. “Thorin, they’re dying out there. Your daughter is out there.”

Thorin did not mind him. “There are holes beneath holes within the mountain,” he muttered, “places we can fortify. Shore up, make safe?” Thorin stood. “Yes. Yeah, that’s it. We must move the gold further underground to safety.” He couldn’t have someone else steal from him. He made to leave. 

“Did you not hear me?” Dwalin grabbed him by the elbow. “Dain is being surrounded. They’re being slaughtered, Thorin. We don’t know where Lorin is, but knowing the lass, she’s probably fighting. Azog is out there and he might know who she is. He’s going to go after her!”

“Many die in war, life is cheap.” Dwalin looked at him with horror. How could he not understand? “But a treasure such as this cannot be counted in lives lost. It is worth all the blood we can spend.”

Dwalin was quiet for a moment. “You sit here in these vast halls with a crown upon your head, and yet you are lesser now than you have ever been.”

Thorin snarled. “Do not speak to me as if i were some lowly dwarf lord, as if I were still Thorin…” The name felt like ash on his tongue. “Oakenshield.” He drew his sword, losing his balance slightly. “I am your king!”

“You were always my king,” Dwalin’s eyes glistened. “You used to know that once.” He looked down. “You cannot see what you have become.”

“Get out,” Thorin spat without much anger. “Before I kill you.”

Dwalin left and Thorin went to the Gallery of Kings. Voices began to echo in his head. 

‘You sit here with a crown upon your head. You are lesser now than you have ever been.’

‘A treasure such as this cannot be counted in lives lost.’

‘A sickness lies upon that treasure…’

‘The blind ambition of a Mountain King.’

‘Am I not the King?’

The gold was cold. Where was the warmth he had felt when he had first laid eyes upon it.

‘This gold is ours, and ours alone. Treasure hoard… I will not part with a single coin.’

‘He could not see beyond his own desire!’

‘…as if I were some lowly Dwarf Lord. Thorin Oakenshield.’

‘A sickness which drove your grandfather mad.’

‘Oakenshield.’

‘This is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror’

‘I am not my grandfather.’

‘You are the heir to the Throne of Durin.’

‘They are dying out there.’

‘Take back Erebor.’

‘Dain is surrounded…is surrounded.’

‘Take back your homeland.’

‘You are changed, Thorin.’ The traitor’s voice echoed in his head.

‘I’m not my grandfather.’

‘Is this treasure truly worth more than your honor?’ He could see his own blue eyes staring back at him. The ones that had looked to him as though he were a hero and not some dwarf who had lowered himself to work in the towns of men.

‘I’m not my grandfather.’

He saw the shadow of Smaug swimming beneath him on the gold of the floor. He remembered the smell of searing flesh as the girl pressed herself against him as they were both knocked backward by the explosion. He remembered her curling into him for protection. He remembered how small she felt against him. He remembered how thin her throat was.

He sank into the golden floor. 

‘This treasure will be your death.’

Thorin tried to climb out as he continued to sink. 

‘Ada…’

What had he done?

The world seemed to right itself and Thorin tore of his crown and threw it on the ground. He felt little satisfaction when it broke. 

What had he done?

***

What had she done?

She hadn’t even been able to look her daughter in the eyes when she left the mountain. She had been terrified of Thorin, but that had been no excuse. Her daughter had needed her and Bramble had done nothing. 

When Thorin left to do whatever it was, Bramble had sat down and cried. Glóin sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder as she sobbed. He was a father. He understood, at least a little bit. He tried to calm her, told her to think about the babe, and rubbed soothing circles into her back.

Fíli was not fairing much better. His face was buried in his hands, curled in on himself. Whatever hold the gold had on him had snapped the moment he told Lorin to go. Kíli sat next to his brother and tried to tell him everything would be alright. They would be off to join the battle soon and they would find Lorin everything would be okay. 

“You don’t understand,” Fíli whispered, lifting his head. “You don’t understand what she—”

He stopped and stood up. Everyone looked at him and then they all noticed Thorin walking towards them, sword in hand.

Fíli stood, passing his brother by, and went to his uncle. “I will not hide behind a wall of stone, while others fight our battles for us!” He pounded on his chest as he stood before his uncle. “It is not in my blood, Thorin.”

Bramble could see the shift in her lover’s eyes. The dwarf she had met. The dwarf who had loved her in the woods below the carrock had returned. “No, it is not. We are sons of Durin, and Durin’s folk do not flee from a fight.” He looked to his heir and smiled. Thorin curled his hand around the back of Fíli’s neck and pressed his forehead to the younger dwarf’s. He then turned to the rest of the Company. “I have no right to ask this of any of you, but will you follow me, one last time?”

“Until the end,” Balin said. 

Bramble went to him before they headed out. She and Óin were to stay behind. “Thorin.”

He turned to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. 

“Bring our daughter back and don’t die,” she whispered. “That’s all I ask.”

“Then I shall do so.” He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “When this is over, come down and help Óin with the wounded.” He kissed her again. “I’ll bring our daughter home.”

***

Legolas and Tauriel came with her. 

They fought against the orcs that stood in their path. Lorin had never fought in a real battle. Not really. She sliced open the orc’s belly as they pushed forward. She needed to kill Azog and his son. Not only would it end the battle, but it would protect Fíli and Thorin and Kíli. If they had died on Raven Hill, that meant they would join the battle. She didn’t know how long she had. 

The three of them rushed up the hill, climbing their way up. 

“Your rather fast for a dwarf,” Legolas commented.

“Not a dwarf, but they’re natural sprinters.” She had to keep moving. 

It was the only thing that kept the cold at bay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish Fíli had been the one to yell at Thorin in the movies. :p


	25. Chapter 25

_“Mummy, when’s Adad coming home?” Lorin’s mum froze at the kitchen sink. “I want to meet Fíli and Kíli. I want to play Outsmart the Troll with them. Please, Mummy. Can they come instead of the letters?”_

_She waited for her mum to answer her. She waited for her mum to spin around and yell ‘surprise’ as her adad burst through the door with her older cousins in tow. Her adad would sweep her off her feet like a prince from her storybooks and he would spin her around and call her his little princes. She waited for her mum to tell her her adad and cousins were coming for them soon._

_Twenty-two years without an adad was long enough._

_“Sweetling,” her mum interrupted her thoughts. “Your adad…”_

_“Mummy, I promise I’ll be really good!” Lorin clung to her mum’s skirt. “Please Tell adad to come get us! I don’t like being younger than everyone!” All the hobbits her age were older. They all got bigger and didn’t want to play with a baby like her anymore._

_“Sweetling,” her mum said, stroking Lorin’s black hair. “Would you like me to tell you a story?”_

_Lorin perked up. “Yes!”_

_She scampered off to the couch where her mum always told her stories (when they weren’t bedtime stories). Her mum followed her slowly. Lorin snuggled into her mum’s arms and nuzzled her face into her mother’s neck._

_“There once was a brave dwarf. He was good and kind and loyal. He loved his One very much, but, for a moment, he forgot that love because he got very sick.” The hobbit’s voice shook. “But, he was able to get better and go save his family and his One. He fought against his foe and sacrificed himself to save those he loved.”_

_Lorin frowned. “Mummy… I don’t like this story.”_

_“He became the same dwarf as he began: a brave and good and kind and loyal dwarf who loved his people and his family very much,” her mum continued. She looked down at Lorin with sad eyes. “That was your adad, Sweetling. Your cousins followed him too.” Lorin’s eyes widened. “Baby, their not coming for us.”_

_Tears began to prick at Lorin’s eyes. “You’re lying.”_

_“I’m so sorry, Sweetling. I thought you knew.”_

_“No!” Lorin pushed her mother away. “You’re a liar! Adad is coming! So is Fíli and Kíli and the others! They’re coming for us because you were their burglar and I’m—”_

_“They’re not coming, Sweetling. They aren’t coming.”_

_“You’re a liar! You said lying was bad! I hate you, Mummy!” Lorin ran from Bag End, her mother running and calling after her, but Lorin ignored her._

_She pushed past the hobbits that got in her way. She was going to go find her adad and bring him back to the Shire and tell him her mum had lied and said he was dead. He’d take her away from this place. He and her cousins would tell her she was normal. She wasn’t weird._

_Lorin didn’t know how long she ran, but she kept going until the sun had gone down._

_Her cousin, Paladin, was the one to find her. He picked her up as she kicked and screamed that she wanted her adad. He hushed her gently and told her her mum was worried about her and that she shouldn’t leave her mum alone like that. “You’re all she has left of your da, Lori.”_

_“I hate her.”_

_He sighed. “No you don’t.”_

_“I do!”_

_She stopped hating her mum when the hobbit woman wrapped her up in her arms and the two cried until Paladin and his da, Adalgrim, tucked the exhausted mother and daughter into bed._

***

Legolas lost sight of Lorin almost immediately once they reached Ravenhill. The dwobbit has a singular focus and it was all she cared about.  Azog’s son Bolg shouted for his orcs to slay them all as his army and giant bats arrived.

The elf princes used one of the bats to get to the top of the tower where many of the orcs were. He caught sight of Lorin as she was facing Azog’s orcs. Legolas’ heart clenched as he saw the small woman fighting against the ugly creatures. He could hear Azog shouting for them to kill the dwobbit. The elf shot his arrows, killing the orcs surrounding Lorin and pushed on.

He heard Tauriel cry out and he turned to see her fighting Bolg, pulling him towards the edge of the cliff they were on. Legolas reached for an arrow and realized he was out.

“Tauriel!” Legolas shouted, rushing to her aid as the elleth fell.

From the corner of his vision he saw an orc about to kill Lorin. Legolas threw his sword, one that had initially been the dwobbit’s, into the orc’s chest.

Bolg came for him then, ignoring the unconscious Tauriel. The elf prince took out his knives and the battle raged on until Legolas managed to drive one of his knives into Bolg’s head. The orc fell through the tower floor as it continued to crumble.

***

Azog stood before her.

The mist of the frozen waterfall rolled around them, biting Lorin’s skin. The world around her finally matched the coldness seeping from her bones. Lorin gripped Orcrist tightly in her hand as she stalked forward. The orc blood caking the side of her face had dried and her hair stuck to her cheek. Her beads clacked together as she strode towards him. Everything that she was had led to this moment. She would avenge the family that was never truly hers. She would kill this monster for the sake of those that had thrown her away and for the baby who was innocent. The her that had a chance of happiness.

Horns blew beyond the hill. Azog’s lips curled into a smirk as he turned slightly and even Lorin could see the coming army.

She needed to cut off the head of the snake. She needed to create a power vacuum within the orc ranks. It was the best way to defeat them. Lorin remembered Sam telling her that he had done that with a band of orcs and it had helped them escape. Merry and Pippin had told her about the in-fighting of the orcs that had captured them.

They were nothing without a leader.

Azog roared and ran to her, dragging his bolder and chain behind him. He swung it forward and Lorin ducked back quickly, her feet sliding beneath her. The momentum of the swing circled back to her and she dodged it, continuing to fall back. She slid under the fourth swing and sliced at Azog’s back. Orcrist clanked against the metal brace around the orc’s waist.

The bolder arched and landed at Lorin’s feet as she backed away. He continued to fling the boulder down as Lorin continued to dodge it. She could hear the ice cracking beneath her and her heart began to pound in her chest.

The two circled each other carefully.

Azog swung his boulder at her again, but this time, the ice finally cracked and the ice began to shift under their feet. Lorin slid as they continued to fight, slipping to the point where her foot plunged into the water. She grunted against the sting before righting herself, only for Azog’s chain to swing under her feet and knocking her onto her back.

The boulder came towards her and she rolled away quickly. He repeated the action three times before Lorin was able to stand up and slice at Azog’s stomach.

Lorin scrambled behind him as Azog roared and the boulder landed at the dwobbit’s feet, lodging itself in the ice. The pale orc tried to yank his boulder out but it would not budge. He swung the sword that had replaced his arm and Lorin blocked it with Orcrist and pushed his arm back. Azog was about to strike again when something caught his eye. The eagles flew overhead and Lorin smirked. The fifth army had arrived and all hope for orc victory was finished.

Lorin sheathed her sword and picked up the boulder that had loosened from the ice and threw it at the distracted Azog. On reflex the orc caught it. Lorin’s smiled widened into a feral grin as she stepped back off the rocking sheet of ice. The ice shifted against the sudden difference in weight and Azog slipped beneath the surface of the water.

Lorin fell to her knees as exhaustion began to take her. She gasped for breath. It was over. It was finally over. Something shifted underneath the ice and Lorin looked to see the pale orc drifting just under the surface. Lorin stood and watched as he went past her. His ice blue eyes were still opened and Lorin followed. She narrowed her eyes. He would not be dead yet. Azog’s eyes closed and Lorin unsheathed her father’s sword and plunged it into the ice, the blade lodging into the orc’s skull. Blood began to billow from the wounds and the water beneath the ice grew murky beneath her feet as Azog’s body slid from her sword and sank beneath the depths of the water. Lorin pulled Orcrist from the ice and dropped it. She fell to her knees once more.

“Lorin!”

Someone was shouting her name.

“Lady Lorin!”

She could not answer. She was so very cold. This wasn’t fading. It didn’t feel the same.

This was exhaustion.

Her vision grew blurry as she felt arms curl under her shoulders and knees.

Legolas.

“Hold on! I’m taking you to my father!”

Lorin let the darkness take her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter will be released Sunday. I will release a chapter on Friday and Saturday as well!!!!


	26. Chapter 26

As the battle finally died down, Bramble and Óin made their way down the mountain to help with relief and to help the wounded. As the battle had raged on, they had collected all the furs they could find from any and all of the sleeping chambers to pass out to the citizens of Laketown. Óin quickly went to work with the dwarven wounded and Bramble acted as his assistant. When asked who she was, Óin would tell the curious dwarf that she was Thorin’s consort. 

“All very official,” he told her when she asked why he said that. “Some people won’t care that you’ve got a pebble on the way without marrying, but some other people will. It’s just better this way.”

“I’m looking for a hobbit,” a voice came from outside the dwarvish tent. In came the elvish prince Bramble had caught sight of when she was in Mirkwood. His blue eyes found her and he strode over to her quickly. “Lorin is in my father’s tent being looked after. You should come immediately. One of my guards is already fetching your husband and the princes.”

Bramble’s heart throbbed in her chest. Óin, who had heard everything, told her to go. 

Bramble followed closely behind the elven prince and they made their way into the elvish camp. The soldiers parted for the prince and allowed him to move more quickly. They reached a large tent and the prince alerted Thranduil that he had brought the hobbit. 

The elven king looked down at her. His pale eyes were weary and full of sorrow, so very different from the arrogant elf she had seen in Mirkwood. Bramble turned her gaze to Lorin, who was laying in a bed meant for one of the tall folk. She was stripped down to a long shift and her sleep shorts. The girl hadn’t acknowledged that anyone had entered the tent. She stared up at the roof of the tent with a blank gaze. The tears that slid down her cheeks were all that indicated that she was even vaguely aware of what was going on around her. 

“I’m sorry,” Thranduil said quietly. Bramble’s gaze shifted towards him. “I have done all I can do.”

“No…” The word tumbled from Bramble’s lips as she rushed forward. She sat by Lorin’s head and pulled the girl into her lap. “No… Lorin, Sweetling…” The girl stared up at her but couldn’t see her. Fading. Her daughter was fading. “Lorin… please… please…!”

“Mum…” 

Bramble’s breath knotted in her throat as she looked down at her daughter. Her Durin blue eyes had turned into a dull grey. “I’m right here, Sweetling.” She lifted Lorin’s hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Just wait a little longer and your adad and Fíli will be here too. Just wait. You have so much to live for. You can’t—”

“Mum… Adad’s gone… remember?” Her voice was soft, barely a whisper. Her eyes fluttered slightly. “He’s not coming for us… Mum… It’s so cold…”

“Shhh…” Bramble began to rock her daughter slightly, pulling her into her arms. “It’s going to be okay. Just wait a little longer. Your adad’s coming for us. And your cousins.”

“I dreamed that I went on the quest, Mum… I dreamed I got to meet him and the others… it turned into a nightmare, Mum….” Lorin nuzzled Bramble’s shoulder. “I’m so cold…”

“Just wait a little longer, Sweetling.” Bramble pressed a kiss to her daughter’s temple. “Just a little longer.”

“Mum?”

“Yes, Sweetling?”

“In my dream… I killed Azog.” Her eyes became clear for only a moment. “Do you think Adad would be proud of me?”

“He would be so proud of you.” Bramble pressed her face into Lorin’s hair. “So very proud.”

“I love you, Mum…” Bramble opened her mouth to reply, but Lorin continued. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you wanted…”

“Lorin, you—” The girl’s body sank into Bramble’s arms, her head rolling to the side, what little light that had remained in Lorin’s eyes faded. 

Bramble’s vision blurred as she held her daughter to her chest, sobbing for what she had done. What they had all done. Her daughter thought she hadn’t been wanted.

“No!”

***

Thorin’s scream ripped through Kíli’s chest as his uncle rushed to his One and daughter’s side. The dwarven king fell to his knees and pulled his daughter’s broken limp body into his arms as he roared in agony. It was too raw, too painful to hear. 

Kíli’s cousin was gone. 

Lorin was gone. 

Fíli collapsed into gasping sobs as tremors began to wrack through his body. Kíli got down next to him and held his older brother in his arms. The younger prince could not imagine it. He could not imagine losing his One like this. 

“I pushed—her—away…” Fíli gasped. “My fault… my fault.”

“Fíli, don’t—”

“I knew!” Fíli raged. “I knew and I still pushed her away!”

“Fíli… it isn’t… it wasn’t your job to fix her…”

Fíli whimpered, a whine escaping from his lips as he curled in on himself. Kíli ribbed large, hard circles into his brother’s back. 

He looked up and saw that Bramble had slipped down from the bed. Her arms wrapped around Thorin and their daughter’s body. Their family broken before it had even really begun.

***

Lorin was laid upon the stone as though she were sleeping. Her dark hair fanned out underneath her. Mountain laurel blossoms were placed in her hair, the pale pink flowers contrasted against her black hair and the Durin blue of her dress. It was the dress of her grandmother, the princess Freya. It was a dress befitting a queen. Her sword, Cunnas Dagnir, and Orcrist were in her arms. Her hands rested at her belly, cupping the Arkenstone in her hands. Candles lined the raised stone and Olórin could almost imagine that the girl was only sleeping. 

The Company surrounded her resting place, paying their respects to the girl they had come to know on their journey, the girl who had saved them many times over. 

Young Fíli sat at the foot of the raised stone. He had curled in on himself, barely eating and, to Olórin’s knowledge, he hadn’t spoken since the day Lorin had died. His younger brother stood next to him. He had been unable to look at Lorin in this state of rest. His vigil would last for however long his brother needed. 

Thorin and Bramble were close to Lorin’s head. The hobbit’s body trembled with quiet sobs as she buried her face in her hands and pressed herself into Thorin’s arms. The dwarven king had cut his hair so that it was to his shoulders. It was a the custom of all dwarrow who had lost a child in such a horrible way. 

Olórin, Radagast, and Beorn listened to the mournful horns as the mourning of both dwarrow, men, and elves continued. 

She looked so at peace. 

Olórin could almost pretend that she was sleeping. 

But he knew Lorin would never wake again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left!!!!


	27. Chapter 27

“I’ll lead our people from Ered Luin back to Erebor,” Fíli said as he stood amongst the small, temporary Council of Lords his uncle had put together until the rest of the clans were able to gather together once more. 

“Fíli, your place is here,” Thorin said gently. His uncle’s blue eyes had turned into a dull grey. Some of the lords hasn’t understood why their king had cut his hair when they had just retaken the mountain, but none understood. They hadn’t known Lorin. 

“My place was with my One,” the heir’s voice broke. “I can’t… I need to be doing something.”

Thorin made to speak again, but Bramble, who was showing now and was sitting next to him as consort, took her husband’s hand in hers. The dwarven king looked at her and she looked to him. They said no words, but they understood one another regardless. 

“You may do so.”

“Thank you.”

Word traveled fast that the crown prince was traveling to Ered Luin to bring the rest of their people home. The people thought it was only right, the young prince, who had battled alongside them, was the one to lead their people home, he was their future king after all. 

They didn’t understand that he wanted to leave because he was a coward. 

Fíli couldn’t bear to walk these halls that Lorin haunted him in. He couldn’t bear to walk the halls he had imagined himself having a life with her when they had curled up against each other in the night. 

He couldn’t… he couldn’t...

A few others in the Company were coming along with him. His brother, however, would be staying behind. 

“You’re not coming back, are you?” Kíli asked him in Fíli’s living quarters as the heir packed. 

“I am.”

“Not permanently though.”

Fíli sighed. “I’ll come and do my duty when the time comes.”

“After the baby is born and Thorin will be busy or when the baby is grown and you can court—”

“She’s not Lorin!” He slammed the lid of his trunk shut. The wood cracked slightly under the sudden movement. 

“They’re the same person.”

“No. The Lorin I loved, the Lorin that was my One, didn’t have a father. She wasn’t raised by the dwarrow. There’s no… there’s no guarantee that she’ll be the same. I can’t… The baby deserves to have a chance at finding love herself. I’m… I’ll be eighty-three years older than her. She deserves someone who isn’t…”

“Thorin’s older than Bramble. In a couple decades, Bramble will feel and look older than Thorin. Tauriel is older than me. In quite a few decades I’ll look older than her. Age isn’t what you’re worried about.” Kíli pushed himself from the bed and went to his brother. “What are you worried about?”

“Lorin told me she loved me, but she never said I was her One. Mahal, I don’t even know if she could have a One.” Fíli chuckled darkly. “She was my ONE. And I threw her away when I knew she was in danger of Fading. If the Valar have any mercy, they will not curse her to be by my side again.”

Kíli hugged him tightly. “I’ll see you around?”

“I’ll visit. I just need to travel. I just need to get out of here.”

Kíli nodded and they never spoke of it again. 

***

His daughter was born just as silently as she had faded. At first he had feared that she was lost to him once more—that the strain of watching their daughter fade had been too much for his wife. Instead, the baby had just been born quiet, as though she did not wish to trouble her parents any more than she needed to. 

Bramble rested after the birth and Óin cleaned his daughter and handed her to his king with care. 

She was tiny, more so than Fíli or Kíli had been. She was barely any bigger than his hand. 

Thorin sat down, cradling his daughter against his chest. She looked up at him with his own blue eyes. Her black hair was curled only slightly. He wondered if it would straighten the longer it got. He vaguely remembered Lorin’s hair curling slightly after their plunge into the river. 

The baby’s pink mouth opened as she yawned. She wiggled slightly against him as she found a comfortable position. She nuzzled her head against his chest and her lips smacked together as she slowly began to drift into a peaceful sleep. 

Thorin watched his daughter carefully, in awe of the tiny treasure the Valar has blessed him with despite all his failings. 

They had decided beforehand that they would name her Lorin. Not only because they could think of no other way to honor the woman who had saved them, but also so they could do right by their daughter they had left in death and in sorrow. 

“I promise I will let no one harm you,” Thorin whispered to her. “Not even myself. I would trade all the jewels of Erebor if it meant you could be happy and safe. I promise you, bunnanunê.” Thorin lifted her slightly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I promise you.”

***

Bramble looked at her daughter and husband as they both slept. The hobbit might have been worried had it not appeared that Thorin’s first instinct was to hold their little Lorin to his chest and recline to the point where he was almost lying down. 

The hobbit couldn’t imagine having done this alone. She could not imagine not having Thorin and the others by her side. 

She wished Fíli had returned to them, but she knew what kept him away and did not wish for him to break his mourning for their sakes. His relationship with Lorin was so very different from their relationship with her. 

Carefully, Bramble stood up and went to her husband and little daughter. She was older as it was and Bramble was unsure if she would even be able to have children again. Lorin may be the the only daughter or child she ever knows.

“One day,” Bramble said softly. “One day I will tell you everything. Tell you everything that happened: the good, the bad and how we made it home. How you brought us home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bunnanunê – my tiny treasure
> 
> One chapter to go!!!!


	28. Chapter 28

Lorin fiddled with the hem of her sleeve as her aunt put the final touches of her birthday dress. It was a dark blue with white laurel blossoms lining the hem of the skirt and sleeves, looking almost like snow from a distance. Her hair was woven into a loose braid that went just to her waist. Her braids and beads that showed she was a master blacksmith and the daughter of the king hung delicately against her neck.

“You look beautiful,” her aunt said, squeezing Lorin’s shoulders. “Your parents won’t believe that you’re their baby girl.”

Lorin smiled and blushed. “I’m not that pretty. Mum was much prettier when she was younger, everyone says so.”

Dís chuckled. “They only say that because your adad would hang any dwarf who makes a pass at you by their beard.”

Lorin chuckled. “Well, I’m officially an adult now, so there isn’t too much he can do.”

“As a dam whose grandfather was a king and a father and brothers who were princes, I can tell you there is plenty they can do.” Dís pressed a kiss to Lorin’s temple. “Now, run along and show your parents and then the masquerade can begin soon after.”

“Is it strange that I wanted a masked ball?”

“Not really, why, for my majority ball I had a wrestling tournament. It’s how I got Víli to meet my family.”

Lorin smiled. “I supposed Mum is glad I didn’t go that route.” 

“I am rather certain she is. Now off you go. I have to get ready as well.”

Lorin promised to see her aunt later and left her rooms to her parents’ royal apartments. Along the way, she saw a very familiar and a very welcomed face. “Kíli!” She ran to her older cousin and practically threw herself into his arms. “I’ve missed you!” Her cousin laughed and twirled her around before setting her down. Lorin looked up to his wife and smiled broadly. “It’s good to see you too, Tauriel.”

The elleth laughed. “Happy birthday.”

“You were so tiny last I saw you,” Kíli laughed, pulling back. He stroked his beard to examine her. “I hardly recognized you.”

“You saw me last month, Kíli.”

Her cousin served as the liaison between the Woodland Realm and Erebor. Even when he was staying in the elven kingdom, Lorin saw him often. His daughter, Amariel, was only twenty and wouldn’t be at the ball (since there would be alcohol). She was going to bed early. The little girl had already wished Lorin a happy birthday. 

“I suppose the fact that you look like a girl is what threw me off then.”

“Kíli,” Tauriel was very obviously trying to chastise her husband, but to no avail. 

“Well, you’re going to have to dance with me at the ball tonight. It’s tradition.” Lorin smirked. 

Kíli, however, groaned. “I’m going to lose all my toes.”

The three laughed. 

“Do you know if Fíli’s coming?”

The prince’s smile faltered slightly. “I’m not sure. He was in Gondor, last I heard.”

“I’m starting to think I don’t actually have a cousin named Fíli,” Lorin said. “I’ve never actually met him.”

He sent her things, usually, for her birthday. He sent her books from Rivendell, flower seeds from the Shire, a sword from Gondor, a chunk of mithril from Moria, a pressed leaf from an Ent near Isengard, a star from Lórian, a cape pin from Rohan, and many other trinkets. He never came to the mountain in person, if he did, Lorin was never made aware of it. 

“The Battle of the Five Armies was difficult for him.” It was all anyone would say to her. 

“I’m sure he’ll come around at some point, your adad isn’t getting any younger,” Tauriel said quickly. 

“He probably wants to retire by now to spend every moment he can with Bramble.”

Lorin didn’t show it, but that statement made her heart ache. “I best get going. I need to see my parents before the ball starts.” She gave them her best smile. I shall see you both there.”

“Of course.”

She wished her cousin and his wife well and made her way down the hall. Lorin entered her parents’ rooms and found both of them getting ready. 

Her father’s hair had turned grey over the years. There were some streaks of the original black, but other than that, he was grey. He’d kept his hair short since the Battle of the Five Armies, his beard remained short as well. Her mother said it was penance for all he did under the effects of dragon sickness, but that is all. He was wearing his dress robes that matched closely to Lorin’s, the same deep Durin blue that brought out their eyes. The hem of his sleeves and robe had grey oak wood colored woven designs with a few laurel blossoms made of silver stitched into the fur of his robe lining. He wore a simple silver circle around his head. 

Her mother was wearing a dress of green that was similar to Lorin’s. The laurel blossoms circled her waist and a silver wreath Thorin had made for her on an anniversary decades ago. Her hair was a silvery white and she had aged to a point of grace and majesty that she remained as beautiful as the mother of Lorin’s memories. Her mother had grown weary in her old age. 

Her father was the first to notice her.

“You look beautiful.” The dwarven king went to her and pulled her into a long hug. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “It seems like just yesterday I was holding you in my hands.”

Lorin hugged her father back. “It feels like just yesterday you were teaching me how to smith a dagger.” She pulled away and smiled up at him. “Now I can start courting.”

“You aren’t allowed to court anyone until you’re a hundred.”

“Thorin,” Lorin’s mother scolded. She came to her daughter and husband. “You can court whomever you like as long as your father and cousins approve.”

Lorin rolled her eyes. “I doubt I would court someone you wouldn’t approve of.”

“Quite right, we Bagginses and Tooks have wonderful taste in men.” 

Thorin grinned and gave his wife a very not chaste kiss on the lips.

“Ugh,” Lorin grumbled. “How I never had a younger sibling is beyond me.”

Her parents chuckled. A knock came to the door.

“Come in.”

Dwalin opened the door slowly. “It’s time.”

***

She danced with her father. Then she danced with Kíli. She danced with Lord Dáin. She danced with all the members of the Company. She danced with Lord Dáin’s son, Thorin. She danced with Gimli. She danced with a few of her friends from class. She danced with Legolas. She even danced with King Aragorn.

Kíli offered to take her round for another waltz, but Lorin said she would sit out for a few moments. She needed a drink. 

“The spiked stuff is in the clear bowl,” Kíli told her. 

Lorin rolled her eyes, adjusting her dragon mask. “I am well aware of where the alcohol is, Kí.”

“Just making sure.” He smirked. “Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to go romance my wife.”

The princess rolled her eyes affectionately before going to get herself some refreshments. She hung to the side of the dance floor as everyone shifted around her. It was a beautiful ball. Everyone looked happy and at peace. 

It was almost perfect. 

“I’m surprised you aren’t dancing still, Princess.” 

Lorin turned to see a blond dwarf in a lion mask standing next to her. The dwobbit felt herself flush. She always did have a thing for golden hair. “I wanted a breather.”

“Hm.” His voice was deep and his blue eyes stayed with her own, not looking her over as many dwarrow had done before him. “I’m surprised you aren’t more crowded. A pretty lass like yourself is bound to attract attention.”

Lorin smiled. “My adad is overprotective. I may be the king’s daughter, but I’m not in line for the throne.” She giggled and looked up to the dwarf through her lashes. “It keeps me out of most of the trouble that could come my way.”

“Then what gets you in most of the trouble that comes your way?”

“My cousin Kíli.”

The dwarf chuckled. 

“Are you going to ask me to dance, Master Dwarf?”

He looked down at her. He looked almost sad. “It would be an honor, Princess.”

The dwarf offered her his hand and led her into the ballroom floor. Lorin our her hand on his shoulder and he put his free hand on her waist. Then, they began to dance. 

They spun around the floor and Lorin felt breathless. The dwarf held her close to his chest as they danced. He led her with such grace and precision.

Lorin closed her eyes and just let herself feel. 

She felt a rumbling against her chest and Lorin looked up at him and realized he was humming. 

It WAS him. 

All too soon, the dance ended.

The dwarf pulled away and bowed while Lorin gave him a small curtsy. He held her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “It was an honor, Princess.”

Then he was gone. 

The world suddenly righted itself and Lorin knew she had to find him. 

She made her way out of the ballroom and towards the gates. They were close to the ballroom. Lorin pulled off her mask as she ran after him. She made it to the large doorways when she saw him. 

“Fíli, wait!”

He paused mid-step. Slowly, he turned to look at her. The prince had taken off his mask and held it in his hand.

“What gave it away?”

Lorin stopped in front of him, allowing herself to breathe again. “I know every person attending. Every single one. Either you snuck passed Dwalin and are trying to kills someone or he knows you’re here and let you in.”

A brief smile graced his lips, but it didn’t quite reach his eye. He bowed again. “Fíli, at your service.”

She smiled brightly and curtsied. “Lorin, at yours.” Lorin lifted her gaze to look at him again. “It’s good to see you, I was wondering if you would ever come back to the mountain.”

“I haven’t been that good of a cousin.” He looked away. “I… things happened, during the battle. It’s hard to explain.”

“Is it because of her?” She asked. He looked at her with tired blue eyes. “The other Lorin.”

“Yes.” He looked down at himself, as though evaluating the dwarf that he was. “I did her wrong. I promised that I would never hurt her and that I would never let her go, but I did. I’m not sure how much the others have told you—”

“They’ve told me enough.”

He nodded. “You deserve the chance to have everything she didn’t.”

“You deserve to be with your family too.” Lorin reached for him but he stepped back. Lorin closed her hand and let it fall to her side. “Did you love her?”

“She was my One.”

“That’s not an answer.”

He gave a soft laugh. “I suppose not.”

“Did you love her?”

“With all my heart.”

Warmth bloomed in Lorin’s chest. “Then why don’t you stay?”

“Because you deserve a dwarf who would never leave you.”

Lorin laughed. She reached for him and this time he did not pull away. Her mask fell to the floor as she cupped his face in her hands. “But I love you, you silly dwarf.” She pushed herself onto her toes as she kissed the bridge of his nose. “More than all the flowers in the Shire, I love you.” 

Fíli’s eyes widened. She smiled. Of course he would remember those words. “That’s not possible.” 

Lorin pressed her forehead to his. “Im mel cin till mui vedui chwest. Im mel cin in everui cuil,” she whispered. “‘I will love you till my last breath. I will love you in every life.’ That’s what I promised you before you learned I had taken the Arkenstone.”

Fíli’s mask dropped to the floor as he pulled her into his arms. Lorin relished in the hold as she pressed her face into his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. He nuzzled her temple with his nose and Lorin lifted her face to kiss him. 

He licked his way into her mouth and it was all she remembered it to be. His beard was rough against her skin as he held her flush against him. Even that was not nearly close enough.

Fíli pulled away, both of them panting, and pressed his forehead to hers. 

“You once promised me that we wouldn’t leave the bed for days.”

He laughed. “I did. But I doubt Thorin will be alright with that now.”

“No, he wouldn’t.” The two lovers sprang apart as Lorin’s mother walked calmly towards them. Fíli bowed quickly. The hobbit smiled at her nephew. “I doubt your mother would be too thrilled either. You missed how she reacted when she found out that Thorin and I weren’t technically married when I was pregnant with Lorin. I doubt you want to repeat that.”

“I rather like being alive now,” Fíli laughed, taking Lorin’s hand in his.

Bramble sighed. “You Durins are all so dramatic.” She shook her head. “Come inside and do your duty. We can all talk about this once the party is over.” She turned to leave but paused and turned to look at Fíli. “I warn you though, Thorin has been practicing for when this might happen. I believe he’s edited it down to two hours over the past few years.”

“Thank you for the warning.”

Bramble smiled and turned to return to the ball. 

As soon as she turned, Fíli pressed a quick, chaste kiss to her lips. “Shall we go?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

Fíli smiled, his eyes brightening. “I suppose not.” He bowed and offered her his arm. “Princess.”

Lorin curtsied and took his arm. “Prince.”

The two returned to the ball, both warmer and happier than they had been in decades. 

***

To L. R. E.

When first I saw you—felt you take my hand,

I could not speak for happiness to find

How more than all they said your heart was kind,

How strong you were, and quick to understand—

I dared not say: "I who am least of those

Who call you friend,—I love you, and I crave

A little love that I may be more brave

Because one watches me who cares and knows."

So, silent, long ago I used to look

High up along the shelves at one great book,

And longed to see its contents, childishwise,

And now I know it for my Poet's own,—

So sometime shall I know you and be known,

And looking upward, I shall find your eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im mel cin till mui vedui chwest. Im mel cin in everui cuil. – I will love you till my last breath. I will love you in every life.  
> Poem by Sara Teasdale 
> 
> So!  
> We’ve come to the end of my first multi-chapter fic! Thank you so much for reading and commenting and kudo-ing for these past 28 chapters.   
> I’m thinking about taking requests for one shots and such so if you have an idea (it can relate to this story or not, I don’t mind) send it to me at my tumblr “fromtheboundlesssea” and I’ll write it and gift it to you. 😘   
> Once again, thank you for reading!!! ❤️

**Author's Note:**

> Come see me on tumblr at fromtheboundlesssea
> 
> feel free to message me about anything! I even have mood boards (of sorts) to my fics!


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